Tennokiken Voyagers!
by shanejayell
Summary: The heroic adventures of the Venture! Featuring Evangelion & others in a SF series. YURI content too.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: this started out as a "original" fiction, but I ended up borrowing so many anime characters as cast members I'm moving this onto here. I own none of the casts from Evangelion or El Hazzard, I'm just borrowing them.

**Tennokiken Voyagers: One**

The bridge layout would have been oddly familiar to those who knew their science fiction. Two work stations were set in front of a large viewscreen, containing the ship's tactical and navigation systems. A central command chair was set up behind them, at the center of the large circle. Just behind it, three stations were set up for communications, science and engineering purposes, and in between them was a central lift to other sections of the craft.

"Where have I seen this set-up before?" the green eyed blonde looked over at her companion thoughtfully. Captain Kelly Miles had an interesting reputation, a quiet and soft spoken scientist who had ended up on the command track by circumstance more than planning. Still, she seemed to be rather good at it.

Dan Wisner, the new ship's navigator, smiled back at her tentatively. He was more than a bit taller them her, and the brown haired man felt oddly uncomfortable about it. Some part of his back-brain was loudly complaining that he shouldn't be taller than his captain, somehow.

"It could be that they just didn't want to have to reinvent the wheel, Captain," Dan finally offered up tentatively.

"Kelly," she said to him absent mindedly as she took a seat in the command chair. She flipped up a control panel that was attatched to the side of the chair as she continued, "I generally prefer a more informal command style."

"Yes, ma'am," Dan blinked as he headed over to the navigation console, sitting down and running through his controls.

'Ma'am isn't Kelly, but it'll do,' Kelly mused as she activated the internal communications systems. "Rio, you there?"

The cranky voice of the ship's tactical officer came through loud and clear, "Over half the weapons on this piece of junk aren't fully functioning yet." From that voice you could imagine the blue eyed, black haired ex-military officer's expression of disgust, "The yard dogs tell me that it'll be a week, minimum, to get them all on line."

"Considering we're supposed to be leaving here in only two days, that's very unlikely," Kelly noted, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Dan felt a degree of nervousness that he hadn't felt before. If they didn't leave Drydock on time, the ship's captain could be in a great deal of trouble, the sort of trouble that could leak down onto her crew, too. Morbidly, he began to wonder what serving on a garbage scow might be like.

A moment of silence, then Kelly ordered softly,"Please patch me through to the head of the repair section over on Drydock."

"Right, Kelly," Lucille Bevía answered, the light brown haired woman taking her seat over at the communications station. She wasn't in ship's uniform, instead she wore a surplus military cap, T-shirt, and baggy pants.

There was a bit of static on the main screen, then a face appreared. She was clearly beautiful, with a slightly dusky skin tone, curly black hair and dark eyes. Victoria Donavan smiled charmingly, almost like a snake, "Captain Miles, it's been a long time."

"Not long enough, Lieutenant Commander," Kelly said calmly.

"That's Commander," Victoria frowned,

"Not when I'm going to be done with you, it won't," Kelly looked up at her image calmly, "your teams certified this vessel as ready to depart. It clearly isn't, and your signitures are on all the documentation."

"Clerical error," Victoria sat back with a smile.

"Possibly," Kelly agreed, "but it won't look good on your record, and those sort of things get looked at when one's up for promotion." She smiled slightly, knowing an ambitious woman when she saw one, "It could even prevent one from recieving an admirality."

The look in Victoria's eyes told Kelly she had scored a major hit. "I'll authorize the work crews," Victoria said coldly, "and expedite any materials requests. You'll be ready to leave on time." With that she cut the connection with a viscious gesture.

"Thank you very much," Kelly murmured.

"She is not going to forget that," Rio noted as she walked onto the bridge, wiping something off her hands with a rag.

"Maybe so," Kelly smiled wryly, "but I can live with that. Just as long as we set out on this survey mission on time."

"Navigation checks out, ma'am," Dan offered from his station.

"Kelly," she gave him a look. She activated the internal communications system again, "Engineering, status please?"

"Working on it, Cap'n," Jessica "Jessie" Kain voice came through loud and clear. "So far, the main drive, dampers and shields check out, but I'm going to have to dig to be sure." There was an edge of anger in the dark blonde's voice, and it was easy to imagine her gray eyes flashing, "I don't trust the Drydock engineers."

"Good work," Kelly disconected. She looked up to give Rio a questioning gaze, "What was that anger all about?"

"A friend of hers used to be the head of engineering over on Drydock," Rio explained, "Siobhan Ward. There's a rumor that Victoria may have helped arrange for the accident that forced her to quit, but nothing was ever proven."

"I'd best watch my back around her, then," Kelly said thoughtfully.

"We'll help you watch it, Kelly," Lucille chimed in.

"I'll go keep an eye on those repair crews," Rio said. "If she wants to go after our ship's captain," Rio added coldly as she left the bridge, "Victoria will have to go through me, first."

"Me, too," Dan agreed.

"Thank you," Kelly said softly. She smiled slightly, "But now, lets get to work, there's still a lot to do before we have to go."

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Two**

"Disengaging the docking clamps," Dan Wisner said, the brown haired young man activating a control on his panel, the ship rumbling slightly. The Venture rocked slightly as the clamps disengaged, the ship floating on it's own.

"Confirmed," Jessica 'Jessie' Kain agreed from her engineering station. The blonde was up on the Venture's bridge mostly to make sure that there were no mishaps in the launch.

"Tactical status?" the ship's captain asked quietly. Kelly miles looked out at the dock through the viewscreen, a thoughtful look on the green eyed blonde's face.

"We're good to go, Kelly," Rio reported from the tactical station beside Dan's. The black haired ex-military officer added with a wicked grin, "It actually looks like those drydock teams did a good job on the repairs."

"Let's wait and see if they fire," Jessie said dryly.

Kelly fought back a smile at that. "Lucille, put me through to drydock command, please." she ordered, mastering her expression.

"Right, Kelly," Lucille Bevía smiled. At least now the light brown haired woman was in her uniform, though she was still wearing that surplus military cap.

Somehow, Kelly wasn't surprised to see Victoria Donavan standing on the command deck of the drydock station, just behind the station's commander. With her dusky skin tone, curly black hair and dark eyes the woman could have been lovely, but the coldness in her eyes offset that.

"Colonel O'Rourke," Kelly nodded to the head of the station, "it's been a long time."

"Indeed," Colonel Brendan O'Rourke agreed. His brown hair was neatly trimmed, but his set of old fashioned glasses slid down occasionally from his blue-gray eyes. "Good luck with your mission, Captain," he smiled.

"Thank you, sir," Kelly said gravely. She turned to look at Victoria and continued, "And thank you, Commander Donavan, for all of your help in preparing the Venture to depart on time."

Vanessa looked like she wanted to say something rude, but she restrained herself. "You're welcome," she said, keeping her voice even.

"End communications," Kelly said to Lucille, then she looked towards Dan, "Back us away from dock, one kilometer per second to start."

"Yes, ma'am," Dan pressed the right controls, and the view of the massive space-dock moved away from them gradually. Moving through the standard routine he turned the ship once it was far enough from dock, changing the view to the stars of space.

"Nice," Rio gave him a slight smile.

"Drives are all operating normally," Jesse spoke up softly, monitoring the engine room closely from her station.

The oval ship moved forward smoothly, resembling a thick metallic plate with an opening at the back for the vessel's drive exhaust. Spaced around the outer edge of the Venture were weapons modules, the communications systems, and beneath the hull plating itself the shield emitters. Along the bottom were hatches, designed to deploy landing vessels and other transport.

"Line us up with the transit corridor," Kelly ordered quietly, "and prepare primary engines for hyperspace insertion."

"Right," Both Dan and Jessie said at almost the same time.

The Venture moved smoothly, lining up to an almost invisible distortion in the fabric of space before them. There was an odd feeling on the bridge as the engine's functions shifted slightly. Deep within the ship a unique energy field was being generated, one designed to interact with the singularity floating before them.

"Go," Kelly said crisply.

The Venture shot forward as Dan and Jessie each activated their systems. They intersected with the distortion, reality shifted around them, there was a sudden dropping sensation, and they were moving through hyperspace, traveling several times the speed of light.

"Insertion successful," Jessie sighed softly.

"Normal communications off-line," Lucille spoke up, carefully shutting down her station. In hyperspace most forms of communications were useless, only certain forms of high-power broadcasts could get through the distortions of this realm.

"Staff meeting, five minutes," Kelly suddenly announced, getting up from her command chair and striding towards the meeting room attached to a hatch at the rear of the bridge.

"You heard her," Rio spoke up loudly into the stunned silence, "get your seconds up here on the bridge and let's go."

"Right," Dan activated the internal communications network, and soon his and the other bridge crew's replacements appeared.

"Ma'am," Ai saluted Rio, then she took the tactical station. She flashed Dan a smile as he changed places with Eiko, and he blushed.

"Isn't that cute," Rio noted, and Dan blushed harder, if that was possible.

"Ladies and gentleman," Kelly said as they took their seats around the long table, "as some of you might know, we've been operating under sealed orders. Now that we've left drydock and entered hyperspace however, I can unseal them." She looked over at her second in command, "Rio?"

Rio activated a viewscreen to show a map of the sector, the inhabited worlds highlighted. "Over the past few months the sector that we're traveling through has been hit with multiple acts of piracy," she explained, spots of red appearing on the map to show where was hit.

"That's impossible," Lucille spoke up, "I thought the Fleet had wiped out the last major pirate ring well over twenty years ago."

"So did we," Kelly agreed, "but it seems someone has revived the profession." She looked over at Rio and said, "Please go on."

"And they've been very elusive," Rio continued the military briefing, "despite several Fleet vessels trying to catch them. They've all either been unable to find the pirate ships or in one case were completely destroyed." She paused, obviously reluctant to add the next part, "There are fears of a leak within the Fleet itself, which is why our orders were sealed."

"So what are we up against?" Jessie asked. The engineer had a thoughtful look on her face, likely already considering what might happen to the Venture in battle.

"They have at least four cruisers," Rio said, "older models than the Venture. They were probably decommissioned hulls they were able to acquire on the black market." A breath, "And they seem to have at least some current Fleet hardware, including dropships and weapons."

"Shit," Dan cursed before realizing where he was. Face flaming he mumbled, "Sorry."

Kelly actually gave him a smile, "Trust me, I said much worse than that when I heard." More seriously she said, "It's the presence of that Fleet hardware that makes command believe the pirates have a contact in Fleet, possibly a high ranking one."

"So we need to stop the pirates," Lucille asked, "and then try to find out whom in Fleet is supplying them with arms and information?"

"That's about it," Rio agreed.

An alarm rang out, disrupting the meeting. "Status report?" Kelly pressed a switch connecting them to the bridge.

"We're picking up something on tactical, ma'am," Ai's voice came through clearly.

Rio moved to a wall mounted station, using her personnel codes to channel the data onto that display. "Gravimetric distortions from real space," Rio reported, "it could be a battle."

"Everyone, to your stations," Kelly got up out of her chair, "prepare for an emergency reentry into normal space." She pressed a key on a silvery wristband that she wore, and a soft alarm rang out through the entire ship. Grimly she added, "Battlestations."


	2. Chapter 2

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Three**

They all almost ran out onto the Venture's bridge, except for their captain Kelly Miles. She calmly took her central seat, the green eyes blonde watching the others return to their stations as she assessed the situation.

"Good luck," Ai wished Dan softly as she let Rio take her seat.

"Thanks," Dan blushed, the brown haired young man going over his control panel as Eiko left. Both young women left the bridge along with the other secondary officers even as the alarm for battlestations sounded.

"Jesse," Kelly said calmly to the ships engineer, "ready the engines for re-entry to normal space. I want the conventional drives back on-line as soon as possible."

The blonde nodded, going over her controls. "You'll have them, Kelly," Jesse Kain said firmly, "and as much power as I can squeeze from the Venture's drives."

"Thanks," Kelly gave her a smile. She looked forward to the navigation and tactical stations, "Dan, Rio?" Both looked up at her and she said, "We don't know what's going to happen when we emerge into normal space, act with your own discretion."

"Right," Rio agreed.

"Yes, Ma'am," Dan gulped, hands resting on his controls, trying not to feel so nervous.

"Lucille," Kelly looked back towards the light brown haired woman on communications, "try to get a signal from the other ship's transponders as we re-enter normal space. It might help us to better identify our friends and foes."

"I'll pulse fire the communications array as we emerge," Lucille nodded. All starships had transponders that were hardwired into the hulls, ones that in theory couldn't be tampered with. Still, Lucille wasn't holding her breath.

"We're approaching the corresponding point for the gravimetric distortions," Rio reported, using the advanced sensors tied to the tactical station.

"Cue reenter to normal space," Kelly said calmly, "in five."

"Five.. four.." Jessie counted down as she began the process of reconfiguring the drives, "three.. two.." There was a subtle rumble, the ship shifting.

"One!" Dan had his hands on the control surfaces as the stars reappeared outside the ship. He saw the incoming missile almost as soon as Kelly barked an order, turning the Venture ninety degrees and kicking the drives into gear.

In the distance lights flared as a battle was fought against the dark backdrop of space. Three freighters, not well armed, exchanged fire with two vessels that were clearly once military, and by the look of them only recently retired. Their shields easily warded off the light fire of the freighters, but another ship was causing them some trouble.

"What the hell is that?" Rio spoke aloud the question that was in everyone's mind even as she prepared firing solutions on her control panel.

It looked like several ships had been salvaged, pieces extracted and used to assemble the odd looking ship on the screen. An angular, blocky front, a curved, rounded middle, what looked like a bridge module attached to the base of the craft, and an oversized engineering section wielded to the back. And painted on the side, a white skull and crossbones on black field.

"I'm getting transponder signals back," Lucille reported, "the freighters are 'Lucky Bell,' 'Angel's hope' and 'No Deficit,' I'm not getting anything from the ex-militaries and the other ship is 'The Revenge.' She's tagged as a privateer."

"Privateer?" Kelly murmured.

"Firing," Rio launched the first salvo of sublight missiles, directing them towards the two attackers. "Should I fire on the Revenge?"

"No," Kelly leaned forward in her seat, studying the situation on the screen intently, "bring us in supporting the Revenge."

"Right," Dan brought the Venture down at maximum speed, the slim vessel sliding through streams of enemy fire. The larger military vessels began to move away from the freighters, clearly not liking these odds.

"Battlecruisers," Rio growled out, "how the hell did raiders get battlecruisers?"

"Jesse," Dan worked his controls, "can we get any more from the drives? They're going to jump before we can reach them."

"Sorry," Jessie frowned, "we're already at .95 lightspeed, and the drives are redlining."

There was a flash of light and the two vessels were gone, disappearing into the safety of hyperspace, destination unknown. Without knowing the precise vector of their entry they couldn't predict where they had gone, and their weapons were ineffective in hyperspace anyway.

"We're being hailed by the freighters," Lucille spoke up, "they report that they've suffered considerable damage." She paused as something else came up. "And the Revenge is requesting to speak with our captain."

"Jesse, get engineering teams ready to go over in the shuttles," Kelly said to the engineer. "Put the Revenge through," she then ordered Lucille. The screen shifted, and the bridge of another ship appeared. A figure sat in the command chair, face and body mostly hidden by a long cloak. Her left hand gleamed silver, resting on the arm of her chair.

"Well," the cloaked figure said calmly, a bit of amusement in her voice, "it seems that the Fleet has sent us a patrol vessel at last. I have some information that might be valuable to you, may I have permission to come aboard?"

"Permission granted," Kelly trusted her instincts. She saw Rio's face go red and added, "No weapons, your command staff only."

"Understood, we'll be launching a shuttle over in minutes," the shadowed figure disappeared as communications were cut.

"Where have I heard that voice?" Jessie muttered to herself softly.

Kelly stepped off her chair, "Rio, Jesse, to the meeting room." She lead them inside before turning to Jesse, "You know her?"

Jessie shook her head, "The voice was familiar, but..." The younger woman shrugged finally, "I'm sorry, I can't place it."

"Understandable," Kelly said gently. "I assume you'll want to be onboard during the meeting, but make sure the engineering teams are fully equipped before they go to the freighters."

"Right," Jessie took off, heading out of the meeting room and down below to the Venture's engineering section.

"All right," Kelly gave Rio a smile as they stood there alone, "yell if you need to."

"What were you thinking?" Rio muttered, pushing her black hair back. "We know absolutely nothing about this captain, or why she's out here."

"We know she's fighting the raiders," Kelly shrugged, "and the information we received did mention that private ships had been commissioned by the freighters to defend them."

"Maybe," Rio scowled. She took a breath and sighed, "Permission to have a security detail there when they dock?"

"Denied," Kelly said. She gave her a impish little smile, "I'm sure you're more than capable enough to defend us."

"I wish you'd take this sort of thing more seriously," Rio sighed.

"I do," Kelly assured her as they went out to the bridge. "Dan, the bridge is yours," she instructed him as she and Rio went in to the lift.

"Isn't he a bit green for command of the bridge?" Rio asked as they descended to the docking bays at the base of the ship.

"He won't stop being so green unless he gets seasoned," Kelly shrugged. They exited, not walking long before Jesse came over from the other docking bays.

"Engineering teams are on their way," Jessie reported.

The three walked on to the main launch bay, where a large shuttle was rising up through the floor. The door sealed beneath it, it settled down and air began to pressurize the chamber. The shuttle was a converted civilian model, designed for speed and maneuverability.

The status light went green and Kelly said, "Let's go in."

The side of the shuttle opened as they entered the bay, and four figures climbed out. An older man looked around him cautiously, followed by two young women and the taller cloaked figure. She strode towards them, and Rio frowned.

The cloaked figure stopped where Jesse stood, reaching up to flip back the hood of her cloak. Black hair, with coppery highlights flowed over her shoulders, a striking face made more distinct by the sapphire cybernetic eye. "Hello, Jessie," she said warmly, "it's been awhile."

"Siobhan?" Jessie stammered, looking up at her in shock.

Before Kelly could bring herself to ask the questions buzzing in her head arms were thrown around her neck as a familiar voice cried out, "Mother!"

Kelly gaped in shock, looking at the face that had haunted her, her one real failure. "Isis?" she blurted out in shock.

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Four (With assistance from Dan Wisner and Liliandra)**

"Mother!" Isis held Kelly close to her, "I've missed you."

Rio had a wry smile on her face as the black haired officer observed the joyful reunion, "Ka-san? So you had some wild times before taking command, hmm...?"

Kelly stammered as the little blonde felt her face going red, "It...It isn't like that!"

Jessie tilted her head to the side with a thoughtful look, "You have a daughter? I know I didn't see this in your file..."

Kelly looked over at her chief engineer in surprise, "You've looked into my file?!"

Jessie gave a casual shrug of her shoulders, "Well of course, I had to make sure you weren't like Commander Donovan."

Kelly shook her head with a sigh. "Oh. I see. Well..." she trailed off.

Isis seemed uninterested in releasing the captain, instead she just snuggled in closer murmuring, "Mother..."

"Well, I can see you know my tactical officer," Siobhan noted with a smile, her black hair flowing in a braid down her back. She, along with her two companions, wore simple jumpsuits oddly carrying a skull and crossbones emblem on the shoulder.

Kelly struggled a bit in the young woman's grip as she answered. "Ye... Yes."

"Well, isn't this a touching moment," the man who had accompanied Siobhan quietly noted, a slight smile on his face. Brown hair was tied back in a rough ponytail, and he had an oddly scholarly look about him.

"Be nice, Shane,' the silver haired young woman beside him scolded.

"All right, Sylvie," Shane smiled down at her fondly.

Kelly felt her cheeks going red as she wondered, 'At what point did I lose control here?'

Rio took in the mildly panicked look in her captain's eye and stepped forward. "Hrm. All right that's enough..." with a firm motion she separated the two women, only to find herself under the piercing gaze of Isis.

Isis' voice was soft yet dangerous as she asked, "Ex_cuse_ me. Are you someone important?"

Rio frowned, "I'm the ship's security officer."

Isis nodded thoughtfully, "Darn, guess that means I can't kill you." As Rio was reacting to that she grabbed Rio by the front of her uniform, picking her up off the ground to add, "Touch me again and I'll just put you in the infirmary."

Kelly puffed out a breath, "Isis?"

"Yes?" Isis beamed.

Kelly sighed, "Let her go please."

Isis put Rio down with a thump, "Ok."

"Now that we all know each other better," Siobhan smiled, "I have information that might be useful to you, as well as an offer to make."

Kelly nodded, "We'll use the bridge level meeting room, follow me." They strode off together, climbing into the primary lift and rising to the bridge deck.

"What happened to you?" Jesse asked softly, standing nearby Siobhan. The dark blonde seemed unaffected by the cybernetics that seemed to cover half of Siobhan's body, gleaming metal in the place of flesh.

"Long story," Siobhan said softly, "I'll tell you later, maybe."

"Sio.." Jesse glared, but Siobhan refused to elaborate.

"Why is that woman calling you Mommy?" Rio asked her captain softly, "I didn't think you were that old, frankly."

"I'm not," Kelly was looking at Isis thoughtfully. "She's an android, one I helped design and create back before I transferred from science to the command tract."

"I didn't think Fleet had working androids," Rio looked over at Isis thoughtfully.

"It's because of the Isis project that we don't," Kelly said. She tilted her head to the side, "Everything went wrong, and finally Isis suffered a massive cascade failure."

"Meaning?" Rio asked.

"The brain crashed," Jesse had come near enough to offer. "The internal network failed, and the artificial intelligence went down with it."

"I thought she was dead," Kelly mused, "I don't see how this could be possible."

The lift let them out on the bridge level, and Siobhan and her crew gazed about with interest. "Efficient design," Siobhan noted as she took in the arrangement of stations.

"Ma'am," Dan almost jumped out of the command chair, the tall brown haired man throwing a nervous salute.

"As you were," Kelly said gravely, "we'll be in the meeting room. Notify me if there's an emergency, otherwise carry on."

"Yes, ma'am," Dan nodded crisply.

Kelly and Siobhan both moved to go into the meeting room, then Rio reached out an arm. "Let the Captain go in first," she said to Siobhan, eyes flashing with irritation.

"Watch it," Isis cautioned her.

Siobhan narrowed her eyes at Rio, something like lightning flashing between them. After a moment's silence she smiled, "Later."

Jesse rolled her eyes as they all took seats around the table. She studied the faces; Isis calm, Kelly focused, Siobhan irritable, Rio angry, Shane cool, Sylvie concerned and she didn't want to guess what she looked like. 'This is not going well,' she mused.

"We all have questions," Kelly smiled wryly, "some personal, others not."

"Business first, I think," Siobhan said calmly. The single cybernetic eye glowed faintly, "I was commissioned by local freighters and system governments to fight the raiders."

"You can prove that?" Rio asked. Siobhan produced a data disk from her jumpsuit, tossing it over to Rio. The officer ran it through a reader, finally nodding reluctantly. "Their credentials do check out," she told Kelly.

"As you probably know, I'm Siobhan Ward," she gestured to her companions on her side of the table, "Isis, my tactical officer, Sylvie, the medic, and Shane, the best pilot in the sector."

"I wouldn't go that far," Shane murmured before getting an elbow to the side, "Ow!"

"Hush," Sylvie smiled.

"May I ask what information Fleet has on the Raiders?" Siobhan asked. They gave her a summary of the earlier briefing and she began to laugh softly. Siobhan shook her head, "I see the Fleet intelligence is still underestimating things. Isis?"

Isis rose smoothly from her seat before walking over to the monitor screen. "May I?" she looked over at Rio curiously.

"Go ahead," Rio nodded slightly.

Isis pulled an access jack from a concealed port in her wrist and then plugged directly into the monitor. A series of vessels appeared on the screen, all clearly armed, and several military ships. "In our encounters with the Raiders we've faced over thirty different ships," she said simply, "most of them armed with Fleet weapons."

"Thirty?" Jesse paled.

"Half are military vessels, either Fleet or from other space navies. The other half are converted merchant ships, arms and tactical systems added," Isis reported. "Their usual operational pattern is to lead in with the military vessels, then use their commercial craft to finish things up."

"How well are these ships running?" Kelly asked thoughtfully.

"Got it in one," Siobhan nodded to her, "they don't seem to have the crews and training to run these ships at full efficiency. They're dangerous, but clumsy."

"Somebody's building and manning their own little fleet out here," Rio murmured to herself thoughtfully, "but why?"

"Something we'll have to find out," Kelly said gravely. She looked over at Siobhan, "You also said something about an offer?"

"The freighters in this sector stumbled across a derelict space station a few years back," Siobhan said. "After they contracted with me to fight the raiders," she explained, "they gave me the coordinates for the station."

"And you've been using it as a base of operations," Jesse nodded.

"Right," Siobhan agreed with a grin. As Jesse blushed she continued, "We've made a section habitable, and are retrofitting the rest over time. With the possibility of a leak within Fleet, using our station for your base might be a good idea."

There was a moment of silence of Kelly's side of the table as they considered that. "She's right about a leak in Fleet," Rio finally said reluctantly.

Kelly nodded slightly, quickly making a decision. "Take us to the station," she said crisply, "we'll determine if we can use it."

"Fair enough," Siobhan agreed, "we'll lead you there."

Jesse tossed Kelly a pleading look. "Before we head out," Kelly looked over at Isis, "I'd like to spend some time with my... daughter."

Siobhan nodded, "Jesse and I have some catching up to do, too."

"The mess hall should be empty at this hour," Rio offered, "you can talk there." She looked over at Shane and Sylvie, "I suppose I can show you around."

"Oh, joy," Shane muttered.

Sylvie elbowed him in the ribs again before giving Rio a sweet smile, "Thank you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Five**

"I'm not quite sure where to begin," Kelly said quietly, the blonde's green eyes focused out a viewport, "I've got a lot of questions."

The two women sat in the Captain's mess, a small room that was just off the main mess hall. While the Venture wasn't the largest vessel in the fleet, certain traditions in shipbuilding were still maintained. So along with all the military equipment a few luxuries were maintained, such as the Captain's mess, a crew lounge and other features.

"I don't know all the story myself," Isis acknowledged, the artificial being looking towards where Kelly stood fondly, "but I'll try."

"The last time I saw you," Kelly hesitated as she went over to sit across from Isis, her expression pained, "we had just shut you down because of the cascade failure..."

Isis nodded, picking up a coffee cup. "I remember that time," she said softly, "especially you, Mother. You watched over me, took care of me, not like the other ones."

"Yes, well...," Kelly blushed.

"According to records I accessed after I was revived, after my shutdown I was put into storage while several factions within Fleet fought over me," Isis said calmly. "After nearly a year it was decided to ship me to the Science Academy, in the hopes they might be able to determine what went wrong. It was at that time I first encountered Siobhan," she smiled.

Kelly raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"Apparently Shane and Sylvie felt that it was rather urgent that they get Siobhan away from Fleet medical," Isis said, "so they... appropriated a Fleet transport to get them all out of there. The one I was on, as it turns out."

"Appropriated," Kelly smirked, "you mean stole." She shook her head and said with a frown, "I wonder why I didn't hear about it?"

"I would suspect Fleet didn't want to publicize a officer absconding with one of their vessels," Isis said dryly. She sat back, "They discovered me in the ship's storage bay and to keep Siobhan busy they gave her me to work on."

"And she found out what I did wrong and fixed you?" Kelly asked softly.

Isis shook her head firmly, "You didn't do anything wrong!" At Kelly's startled look she continued, "Siobhan found evidence of sabotage."

"What?" Kelly jerked up in surprise.

Isis nodded. "Siobhan found a module that had been implanted in my core," she said simply, "clearly an add-on, that she discovered had triggered the cascade failures. One she removed it she did a full restart and brought me back on-line."

Kelly got up from her seat, pacing the small room, "It makes a certain kind of sense." She ran a hand through her blonde hair, "I was pressured to activate you as soon as possible, probably because whomever wanted to have the failure happen quickly." She clenched a fist and punched a bulkhead, "Damn it, I should have known!"

Isis jumped to her feet, grasping the now bleeding hand. "You did everything you could Mother," she cradled the injured hand, "I'm certain of it."

Over on the bridge Rio smiled slightly, "Lieutenant Wisner, I'd like you to meet our guests Shane and Sylvie."

"Sir, ma'am," Dan shook both of their hands then turned to Rio questioningly, "Are you here to relieve me, Ma'am?"

"Not quite yet," Rio said. She dropped her voice to add, "The Captain's asked me to nurse-maid there two for a bit."

"Hi there," Lucille beamed, the light brown haired woman nodding to them from her communication's station.

Both Ensign Ai and Eiko introduced themselves from the tactical and navigation stations, the officers taking in the oddly dressed guests. The black jumpsuits were simply designed, carrying a skull and crossbones emblem on the shoulder as well as being marked with a brightly colored strip just below it, Shane's red and Sylvie's blue.

"Are those rank insignia?" Ai asked curiously.

"It relates to the departments we're attached to," Shane shrugged, "red is command and security, blue is for medical and sciences and gold is engineering."

"Not a bad idea," Rio admitted, adjusting her royal blue Fleet uniform.

"Siobhan swiped it from an old holodrama," Sylvie confided with a grin.

Rio smiled slightly as she remembered something. She looked over at Dan, "Apparently Shane here is the best pilot in the sector."

Dan raised an eyebrow, "That's quite a boast."

"My captain's been known to exaggerate," Shane said dryly.

"Maybe we can arrange a little contest," Rio said with a mischievous gleam to her eyes, "to find out who is the best."

Dan and Shane exchanged a long glance at that, both men almost instantly realizing that they were going to be in trouble.

Over in the mess hall Jesse and Siobhan sat in reasonable privacy, cups of steaming coffee sitting in front of them. Siobhan picked it up with her left hand, the cybernetics visible as she took a drink. She sighed happily, "You remembered how I like it."

"I wouldn't forget," Jesse said softly, her dark blonde hair falling into her eyes. She took a drink of her own coffee, "How could you disappear like that?" She looked up from her cup, tears glistening in her eyes, "I thought you died!"

"I'm sorry about that," Siobhan said softly, the woman dressed in black placing her right hand on Jesse's own, "but I couldn't tell you, not when it could have gotten you hurt." She paused before adding, "Or even killed."

Jesse narrowed her eyes, her voice dropping to a whisper as she said, "So it was an attempt on your life, the accident at Drydock."

"No accident," Siobhan said grimly, "that was just the cover story. I was hurt trying to disarm an explosive device that was planted near the fusion core."

"Donovan," Jesse growled out angrily, only to be surprised by a gentle shake of Siobhan's head. "But she hated you," Jesse blurted.

"It was too obvious," Siobhan said grimly, " Victoria Donovan may be a back stabber, but you rarely know she's putting the knife in until it's too late." She sat back with a sigh, "I think I was targeted because of irregularities I spotted in parts and equipment invoices."

"Someone tried to kill you for that?" Jesse blinked.

"When you consider it was weapons shipments and battleship parts," Siobhan said calmly, "it might be more understandable."

"That's why you needed to get out of Fleet medical so fast," Jesse was nodding slightly, "you didn't know who had taken a shot at you or if they'd try again." She looked over at the metal hand, then up towards Siobhan's cybereye, "But why...?"

Siobhan took another drink of her coffee, putting the cup down. "I have the bad luck to be part of the small percentage of the population that can't use regeneration technologies," she said softly, "so we had to go looking for another solution."

"I'm sorry," Jesse sighed, "I didn't know."

"I didn't tell you," Siobhan corrected her, "because I knew you would have worked yourself twice as had trying to keep me out of trouble."

"You know me too well," Jesse chuckled softly.

Siobhan got up out of her chair with a liquid grace, pulling Jesse up to enclose her in a gentle hug. "You have no idea how good it is to have my best fried back," she said softly.

Jesse winced, though Siobhan didn't see it as she echoed, "Best friend."

The door to the Captain's mess slid open, Kelly and Isis emerging together. Siobhan reluctantly released Jesse to turn towards the approaching Captain. "So how are things between you and my tactical officer?" she asked.

"Good," Kelly said. She hesitated, then met Siobhan's eyes to say, "I understand I owe you my thanks for the restoration of Isis."

"You're welcome," Siobhan just nodded, but a slight smile teased her lips.

"Let's get our people together," Kelly said calmly, "I understand you have a space station you wanted us to visit."

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Six**

Kelly settled down into her command chair, the blonde watching the image in the bridge's main viewscreen as the shuttle docked with the Revenge. "Dan, did you get the insertion coordinates?" the blonde captain asked, not taking her eyes away from the view.

"Programmed into the helm," Dan agreed. The brown haired ship's navigator looked over at Rio beside him, silently asking her a question.

"When we emerge," Rio said from her seat at the tactical station, "can we have weapons ready?" The black haired woman quickly added in explanation, "Just in case the raiders have found Siobhan's station, of course."

"Or in case Siobhan is pulling a fast one," Lucille calmly noted. The communication's officer smiled to herself slightly, her light brown hair pulled up under one of her many battered hats, "You're consistent, anyway."

The Revenge began to move, shifting it's position as it prepared to go into hyperspace. "Keep the weapons down," Kelly said firmly, "but scanners on long range. If there is a surprise when we emerge, we'll have a chance to spot it."

"Got it," Rio agreed.

Jesse frowned slightly at that, but she didn't say anything. The light brown, nearly blonde young woman knew that Siobhan wouldn't betray the Fleet, it just wasn't in her nature. Still, the others didn't know Siobhan like she did, so she could certainly understand their being cautious. 'I just hope it doesn't last,' Jesse thought.

There was a shifting distortion all around the Revenge as it accessed the fabric of space-time, then shifted from this reality into the other realm of hyperspace. "Let's not keep them waiting," Kelly said after a moment.

"Right," Jesse spoke up softly, monitoring the engine room closely from her station, "Drives are all operating normally."

Dan pressed a few keys on the navigation station, the oval ship moved forward smoothly, resembling a thick metallic plate with an opening at the back for the vessel's drive exhaust. Placed around the outer edge of the Venture were various weapons modules, communications systems, and beneath the hull plating itself were the shield emitters. Along the bottom of the Venture were hatches, designed to deploy landing vessels and other transport.

The Venture moved smoothly, lining up to an almost invisible distortion in the fabric of space left by the Revenge's passage. There was an odd feeling on the bridge as the engine's functions shifted slightly. Deep within the ship a unique energy field was being generated, one that was designed to interact with the singularity now before them.

"Go," Kelly said crisply.

The Venture shot forward as Dan and Jessie each activated their systems. They intersected with the distortion, reality itself shifted all around them, there was a sudden dropping sensation and they were moving through hyperspace, traveling at several times the speed of light.

"Picking up the wake of the Revenge just ahead of us," Rio reported with a scowl, "it's far more powerful than a ship of it's size should produce."

"Jesse?" Kelly asked calmly.

"When I worked with her I found Siobhan Ward to be a very good engineer," Jesse said to them calmly, a bit of admiration in her voice as she continued, "if it's at all possible to get additional performance out of an engine, she'd find a way to do it."

"Not that it's something you would ever do, of course," Lucille said to Jesse with an impish little smile on her face.

Jesse snorted softly in amusement. No ship's engineer followed the book religiously, they all tinkered with the engines a bit to get just a little more power out of them. Not to mention the other ship's primary systems...

"We won't be in transit long," Dan reported, "according to the data we received. We should be returning to normal space in less than half an hour."

"Thanks," Kelly smiled. she noticed Rio giving her a thoughtful look and nodded for the woman to leave her station, "Yes?"

"You haven't gone off shift for nearly half a day," Rio said quietly, "you might want to catch some sleep before we get to Siobhan's station."

"I'm fine," Kelly said, then stopped. Lack of sleep could slow an officer down, impede their judgment. She met Rio's concerned eyes and nodded. "Rio, you have the bridge," Kelly rose from her seat, "call me once the Revenge returns to normal space."

"Ma'am," Rio threw her a crisp salute as Kelly walked off the bridge.

Kelly shook her head, riding the lift for a few seconds before she reached her level. She strode down the corridor to her quarters, palmprint keying the door open. Inside it looked like the home of a scientist, not a commander, artifacts of various types scattered about. Textbooks partially read, papers, and many other items covered the main table that she passed to her bedroom.

'God, I am tired,' Kelly admitted to herself as she flopped down on the bed, uniform still on. 'Just a little nap,' she thought, already drifting off.

Rio sat in the command chair, her replacement Ai sitting in the tactical station. The woman checked the station carefully,. not assuming Rio had left things as normal and Rio smiled in approval. Ai did her job well, even with the smiles she was throwing Dan.

"Jesse," Rio looked over her shoulder to where the engineer sat, "what sort of capabilities do you think the Revenge has?"

"Tactically, you mean?" Jesse asked. She shook her head, "It's hard to say, considering the patchwork construction of the ship. I'd guess powerful energy batteries, and we saw missiles in use when they took on the raiders."

"That's about what I figured," Rio agreed. She smiled slightly, "I wasn't sure what sort of answer you'd give...."

"Rio," Lucille blurted, but Jesse held up a hand to stop her.

"Siobhan Ward is my friend," Jesse said evenly, "but I'm also an officer of the Fleet. I'll do my job professionally, you can count on that."

"Right," Rio nodded, meeting Jesse's eyes.

"If it comes to the point I can't do my job professionally," Jesse added, "I'll resign first."

"Hopefully we're all on the same side," Dan spoke up from the navigation station, "so that possibility won't come up."

Rio smiled wryly, "Hopefully."

"Nicely done," Ai whispered to Dan softly.

Dan blushed slightly, "Thanks."

Ai frowned as her station beeped softly and she bent down to check her sensor readings. "Possible reemergence into normal space," Ai reported.

"Confirming," Dan turned the more powerful navigation sensors to the job, nodding thoughtfully. "The Revenge had dropped into normal space," Dan reported.

"Prepare to bring us back into normal space," Rio ordered. She pressed a key on the command chair's arm, "Captain Miles to the bridge, Miles to the bridge."

Kelly jerked up on her bed, shaking her head. She reached for the inhaler beside her bed, putting it into her mouth then hitting the switch. A powerful stimulant vapor rushed into her mouth and right through her skin, racing through her blood stream into her brain.

'I hate that stuff,' Kelly thought as she rushed out of her quarters, straightening out her uniform and running a hand through her hair, 'but I can't risk drowsiness on the bridge.' She rode the lift up, tasking a few relaxing breaths, then arrived at the bridge her usual self.

Rio didn't wait for the order to come, she reported the situation as she got up out of the command chair, "We've detected the Revenge returning to normal space and we'll be dropping out of hyperspace in a few seconds."

"Understood," Kelly slipped into her seat, feeling the ship rumble as the drives shifted their function. Ai surrendered her space to Rio, giving Dan a fleeting smile as she left the bridge. 'Wonder when Dan will finally ask her out?' Kelly mused.

"Prepare to reenter normal space," Kelly said to the bridge calmly, "in five."

"Five.. four.." Jessie counted down at her engineering station as she continued the process of reconfiguring the ship's drives, "three.. two.." There was a subtle rumble in the hull, the entire ship shifting slightly beneath them.

"One!" Dan had his hands on the control surfaces as the stars finally reappeared outside the ship. He looked up at the viewscreen then froze, gazing in surprise at what awaited them.

"Is that... the space station?" Lucille whispered in surprise.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Seven**

Kelly's eyes widened slightly but she kept her mouth shut as she took in the construct that hung there in space. As a Captain of a starship she was used to seeing large objects, but almost always they were natural. A planet, gas giant, stars, asteroids, they all were products of the processess of stellar creation. Even the largest of man-made constructs like Fleet Drydock and other orbital stations were a few miles across, occassionally a bit larger, but this dwarfed that easily.

"Weapon's status?" Kelly made herself ask, the green eyed blonde unable to pull her eyes away from the screen.

"Right," Rio was startled into action, quickly working her tactical station, a frown on the black haired woman's face. She narrowed her dark eyes, "I don't think they have weapons active but I'm not entirely sure of the readings."

"Understood," Kelly agreed. She took a breath, "Dan, move us forward."

"Yes ma'am," the brown haired man navigator answered. Dan brought the conventional engines on line, moving them forward.

The station that slowly began to fill their screen was a massive construction, dwarfing both the Venture and the Revenge combined. The slowly turning disk was a deep gray marked with silver, and it gave the impression of immense age. It was also quite clearly alien, the construction subtlely different than human work.

Kelly tried to get a rough estimate of the size by comparing it with the Revenge but finally had to give up. "Contact Siobhan Ward," she ordered.

"Got it Kelly," Lucille answered as she worked at her station, her light brown hair contained by one of her many battered caps.

Siobhan Ward's face came up on the corner of the screen, her coppery black hair falling into her eyes. "What do you think, Miles?" Ward smiled wryly.

"I'm impressed," Kelly admitted. She looked grave as she continued on, "This isn't going to be a first contact situation, I hope?"

Sio shook her head, "The station has been abandoned a long time. We've only explored a few miles on one edge, but there's no signs of life in the other sections."

Rio had to ask, "How big is this thing?"

Isis spoke up, the android smiling slightly as she said, "The station is 15 miles across and two miles high, though the circumference is somewhat irregular."

"We've got a dock and a section we set up with human atmosphere," Siobhan explained, "you can follow us in."

"Understood," Kelly nodded as they disconnected.

Jesse puffed out a breath at her engineering station, the scanning arrays on full and recording all the data she could. The dark blonde's hair was roughtly pulled back, her voice awed as she said, "I can't believe the power that thing is putting out."

"Passive scans only," Kelly cautioned her without turning around, "I don't want us triggering any automated defences."

"I see the dock," Dan said softly, the station filling the viewscreen.

"Bring us in slow," Kelly said needlessly, Dan already adjusting his controls.

The Revenge moved in to dock first, sliding between two metalic pilons that quickly held it in place with low level shields. From the station a older style boarding chute was deployed, smoothly locking in around the access hatch.

"Our vessel's compatable with that system," Jesse noted as the moved in.

The Venture slid into place, a slight rumble as the fields locked in around the vessel. Dan watched his controls, "All motion negated, we're at rest relative to the station."

"The boarding chute has attached," Rio noted. "sensor scans show no personel waiting to try and get in. The coast is clear so far."

Kelly sighed softly, silently wondering if paranoia was something they trained you for in the tactical school or if you just picked it up on the job? Still.... "Dan, Rio, Jesse," she got up from her chair, "you're going on board with me. Lucille, you're in charge until we get back."

"Aye, Captain," Lucille tossed a casual salute as the four left the bridge, their replacements coming onto the bridge.

"Are we going aboard armed?" Rio asked crisply as they took the lift down.

"No, we aren't," Kelly said to her firmly.

Jesse shook her head, smiling slightly. "You really don't like Siobhan, Rio. Why isd that?" she asked curiously.

"Considering her history," Rio glowered, "it's understandable."

Dan sighed softly, running his hand through his brown hair. He was surprised to see a sympathetic smile on Kelly's face and blushed, "Sorry."

Kelly chuckled, "No problem."

The lift let them off at the shuttle bays, the four of them moving to the access hatch the boarding tube had connected to. Jesse checked the exterior readings before noting, "There's a standard oxygen blend in the tube and a tight seal."

"Then let's go," Kelly said, pulling the lever and opening the hatch. She led the way into the boarding tube, floating in the low gravity as Rio growled in alarm behind her.

"You mind being a bit more careful?" Rio scolded, using handholds in the tube's lining to quickly catch up with her.

Kelly just smirked, leading them over to the access into the great space station itself. She reached for the handle and Dan spoke up, "Ah, maybe Rio should go first?"

"Damn right," Rio growled.

The tactical officer moved in front, reaching out to take the hande, Rio aware of Kelly and the others behind her. She turned it, there was a hiss of air as the slightly higher pressure within the station equalized with the tube and...

"Oka-san!" a female figure flew by to hit Kelly with a hug.

"Isis," Kelly blinked, then gently wrapping her arms around the smaller woman.

"Mom?" Dan blinked. He looked over at Jesse who was watching the joyful reunion with amusement, "What's going on?"

"That's Isis," Siobhan Ward said, the cyborged woman standing on the other side of the portal offering a hand, "she's sort of Kelly's artificial daughter."

"Thanks," Jesse smiled, taking the hand to go aboard. Rio made her own way in, Dan following. Kelly and Isis came on last, the younger woman holding onto her mom possessively.

"Artificial gravity," Rio noted, standing up and looking around her warily.

"It's about 1.3 of Earth standard," Siobhan calmly agreed, "that's the lowest we've been able to get it so far." She tossed a smile at Jesse and Kelly, "Hopefully you'll be able to help with that."

The chamber they stood in was small, clearly a inner airlock. The walls were metal, gleaming, and a few control panels were the only accents. "Come on," Isis lead them over to a inner door, opening it up into a larger room.

"Whoa..." Kelly blinked. The inside was lit like daylight, and despite the components littering the ground and open control areas it shone like new. Several comfortable chairs were scattered about and viewscreens were set up for easy weatching.

"We think this was built to be a kind of waiting room," Sio said as they strode across the floor to another waiting door.

Jesse was looking around her thoughtfully, "So what is this station for?"

The other door opened, Shane waving cheerfully as they neared. "We think it was built as a self sustaining habitat," he explained, "watch your heads." They ducked through the small hatch, stepping out... and freezing.

A city, or at least a good part of one stood before them. Some of the structures had sunk into disrepair, others looking like they had just been built, and all of them looking like they had been plucked right from the Earth's surface. Lights glowed happily, power flowing through the structures, but there was no sign of any inhabitants.

"Taxi, anyone?" Sylvie smiled, the silver haired young woman sitting behind the wheel of a modified crew transport.

To be continued....

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Eight**

Kelly Miles didn't hesitate at all as the blonde captain crisply said to Sylvie, "Thanks, I think we'll take that ride."

"Then let's get aboard," Siobhan Ward said, the cybernetically enhanced privateer grabbing a seat behind Sylvie on two oversized plush benches. She was careful not to sit down on her coppery black hair, one of her few indulgences.

"Hey," Shane sat down in the seat up in the front cabin beside Sylvie, reaching out to gently put his hand over hers a moment.

"Isn't that interesting," Rio muttered while the black haired woman smoothly took a seat across from Ward to keep an eye on her. Ward looked amused by the action as Rio cautiously watched her crewmates get aboard the personnel carrier.

"Thanks," Dan smiled as Siobhan pulled him in with a single tug, then helping Jesse and Isis up before closing the side hatch.

Isis had a slight smile on her face as she looked over at her mother, Kelly. "You've been very quiet so far," the artificial being noted after they drove a short ways.

"Just trying to absorb what I'm seeing," Kelly looked out the window at the massive construct around them, "it almost looks bigger in here than it was outside."

"Very good," Siobhan murmured with a smile.

"But that's impossible," Jesse blinked, the darker blonde looking around in surprise.

"Not necessarily," Kelly mused, the woman shifting from ship's captain to scientist, "there are theoretical constructs like tesseracts with more internal volume than their exterior dimensions."

Rio leaned forward, "If this place is a tesseract, why haven't you called in the Science Academy to investigate the phenomenon?"

"I can't trust Fleet with the leaks," Sio said dryly, "and there's no reason to assume that the Academy won't pass data on to them."

"We're here," Sylvie called from the front seat as the personnel carrier slowed to a stop, "our home away from home."

The hatches on either side swung up to let them out, the surprisingly fresh smelling air of the construct washing over them as they got out. The building they stood in front of was actually not that big, only several floors tall and not terribly wide. It almost looked like an office building with glass windows and gray stone construction, just like an Earth building.

""We picked this structure for several reasons," Shane said as they walked forward, "including the fact that it's compact and defensible."

Rio instantly went on guard as she asked, "You've been attacked?"

"No, we have not," Siobhan tossed Shane a cross look before continuing on, "but certain members of my crew are more cautious."

"Or our captain has a reckless nature," Sylvie was entirely unrepentant as she continued, "you can take your pick."

Rio looked over at Kelly and smiled just slightly, "I think I know what you mean."

"So how many people are there on the construct?" Dan asked as they walked up to the building and through the front doors.

"Not many," Shane said simply, "we have the crew of the Revenge quartered here along with a few others, but the rest is handled by the mechs."

"Mechs?" Kelly asked as Siobhan lead the way over to a industrial lift.

"A Raider ship we captured had a full hold of third generation Servomechs," Siobhan said simply as she hit a few keys on a control pad, "instead on returning them to their owner I appropriated them for our use here."

"That's against the law," Rio said crisply.

"Then the Fleet can add it to the bill for the ship we stole escaping," Sylvie tossed Rio a fierce look, "assuming we can find someone we can trust in Fleet."

"Sylvie," Shane put his hand on her arm, gently tugging her back.

"This is an extraordinary circumstance," Kelly said firmly as she looked between Rio and Siobhan, "I'm certain that allowances can be made."

"Bleh!" Sylvie stuck her tongue out at Rio.

Siobhan sighed, running her cybernetic hand through her long hair. "I mean it when I say I'm willing to face trial by Fleet when this is all over," she said gravely.

"Understood," Rio nodded grimly.

There was a thump as the lift came to a stop and Jesse puffed out a breath. She smiled slightly at the others looks as she explained, "I hate those old lifts."

"You're a ship's engineer," Shane raised an eyebrow as they headed out into the hallway, "don't you have to deal with them all the time?"

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Jesse said dryly.

Sylvie smiled wryly as they reached a large door. "This is our command center," she opened it up, "more or less."

"Damn," Kelly muttered, eyes almost instantly drawn to an massive star-chart of the sector, symbols dotting it indicating Raider attacks. A large table was set not far away but she walked right by, her eyes narrowing. "There's been more attacks than we were told about," Kelly said as she turned back towards Siobhan and the others.

Rio's eyes studied the clusters of insignia, her eyes narrowed as she tried to find a pattern. "They're random," she finally said, "almost too much so."

Dan sighed softly, sitting down at the table as he waited to see what his commanding officers would come up with next. Jesse gave him a sympathetic smile then they were joined by Shane and Sylvie. "Enthusiastic, aren't they?" Shane murmured.

"You can say that again," Jesse agreed. She looked over at Dan then at Shane, "So what's this I hear about you being the best pilot?"

"Siobhan exaggerates," Shane said dryly, "I'm at best an average ship- handler."

"Don't be so modest," Sylvie took his arm with a little smile, "he's pulled off some interesting stunts in our skirmishes with the Raiders."

"Maybe we should test your skills against Dan's," Jesse offered.

"Now that's an idea," Jesse nodded eagerly, "an obstacle course, maybe?"

"We could use sensor equipped mines," Sylvie offered the idea excitedly, "if either of them get too near they'd go off."

"Oh no," both Shane and Dan blurted out at the same time.

"What are you doing?" Isis asked curiously, wandering over to see what was going on.

"My girlfriend is plotting to blow me up," Shane sighed.

"And me with him," Dan added.

"Spoilsports," Jesse pouted.

"Don't be so eager to die," Siobhan said as she, Rio and Kelly headed over, "we'll get you blown up in due time."

"That's comforting," Sylvie commented, "what's up?"

"I think we may have a bigger problem then we initially thought," Kelly said grimly, "it looks like the Raiders are trying to build their own little Fleet out here."

"And they're using fleet arms to do it," Rio scowled.

"You're certain?" Isis asked, her expression completely calm.

"Siobhan had already collected all the data," Kelly said grimly, "and combined with our limited Fleet intelligence it's the only conclusion."

"Uhm," Dan spoke up, then stopped.

"Yes?" Rio looked over at him.

"How do we know we can rely on the Fleet data? We already know there's a leak, they could have modified the data," Dan shrugged.

"Crap," both Rio and Siobhan cursed at once.

To be continued....


	5. Chapter 5

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Nine**

The Fleet's Drydock was always busy, even at this time of the night. Repair crews worked in shifts throughout the day and into the night to handle the constant stream of Fleet vessels needing urgent repair or refit. Immense quantities of supplies and materials were shipped through the station and used to restore ships or passed on to other facilities. It was a hub of this sector, serving Fleet emplacements throughout the region of space.

The office was opulant, decorated by some of the finest artifacts and art taken from old Earth itself. The desk was oak, heavy and gleaming, looking oddly out of place in such a modern place. The whole office declared the power of the inhabitant, the costs of shiping or aquiring the items all around the room almost impossible to concieve.

The lady stood at the viewport, gazing out at a clear view of deep space, unobscured by all the construction booms and other aparatus of the station. She was clearly quite a beautiful woman, with a slightly dusky skin tone, curly black hair and dark eyes, but by the look on her face Commander Victoria Donavan was not a happy woman.

"What do you mean," Victoria turned away from the view to look at her guest as she said dangerously, "you lost track of them?"

The young man gulped noisily. "They left their scheduled route," he said, light blue hair falling into his eyes, "and our stationed vessels haven't encountered them."

Victoria fought the urge to grind her teeth together, "And as long as the Venture stays off of the standard routes we won't be able to find them."

"We'll do everything we can to find them, ma'am," he squeaked.

Victoria gave him a disgusted look, knowing that it was practically impossible. "Oh, just get out of here," she waved, "before I forget that I'm a Fleet officer."

"Right," he fled.

Victoria sat down behind her desk, dark eyes narrowed in thought. She had a good handle on what was going on in this sector, over all. Certain vessels knew who's palm to grease, she had often cleared the friends of a friend for transit and she was collecting favors that would come in quite handy once she was up for her next promotion.

Some people might claim that was she was doing was dishonest or even illegal, but Victoria didn't think so. She had watched her father doing business, seen how people at that level worked. Even her enterance to Fleet had been cushioned by wealth and influence, so she had no reason to expect that things would be any different once she became an officer.

"Which is exactly why that damn Miles could be a problem," Victoria murmured, flipping open a file even as she remembered their earlier meeting.

That little prig Kelly Miles had been a science officer when Victoria first met her, back on the Isis project. The Fleet's atempt to build a artificial being was a good idea, so good that a certain company had asked her to provide them the test data then sabotage the project in exchange for a remarkable sum. Generously Victoria had tried to include Kelly, approaching her through a catspaw, but she had not only turned the offer down but had the pawn Victoria used arrested!

Victoria was quite safe, of course, she had far too much dirt on her pawn for him to risk exposing her. Still, it was an insult to Victoria, what Kelly did, and she was quite determined to see her pay for that slight. In addition to providing her employers the data Victoria had sabotaged Isis on a test run, arranging it to look like Kelly had made the error that 'killed' the artificial being. Watching Kelly frantically trying to save Isis had been a pleasure, the doubt and uncertainty that had filled the woman was more than enough to satisfy her.

"I just wish that I had known what she was going to do next," Victoria smiled to herself wryly, looking over Miles' service record.

Victoria hadn't seen much of Kelly Miles over the next few years, she had been busy enough persuing her own career. Soon she was the head of engineering on a midsized repair station when a older warship docked, the first officer coming aboard to arrange much needed repairs. Victoria had been all ready for the typical negotiations, the usual not-so-descrete offer of some under the table renumeration when the lady entered.

Kelly Miles looked good dressed in a Commander's uniform, the green eyed blonde meeting her eyes confidently. The shattered technitian of years ago was gone, replaced by a confident and capable officer on the command track. No negotiations followed, in fact Kelly and her people were all over the small repair station making sure the work was done properly. They dealt with each other in a courteous way but it was clear that Kelly didn't trust her.

Several times over the next few years they ran into each other, with Kelly quite often interfering with one of Victoria's many activities. To make it worse promotions in the battle Fleet came much faster than in engineering or sciences and soon Miles outranked her, too. It was so frustrating to be commanded by someone who had once had been her subordinate, much less having to deal with a self righteous person like her.

"So what is Miles doing out here?" Victoria wondered as she brought herself back to the present. As much as she disliked her Victoria knew Kelly was a capable commander. one that the fleet wouldn't waste sending on a fool's errand. Obviously there was something out here that the Fleet felt they needed Miles to deal with, but what?

The Raiders was the most obvious answer, and just because it was obvious didn't mean that it wasn't worth considering. According to the public parts of Miles' file she had some anti-piracy experience, helping deal with a situation where a merchantman had decided to go pirate, and there were indications she had operated undercover, too. That didn't really qualify her to go after a group like the Raiders, but it was a good start. And, Victoria called up some records to check, it didn't look like anyone else had much more experience, currently.

"We may well be on the same side," Victoria conceded.

The Raiders had been cutting into her business of late, that was certain. The sort of people who paid not to be noticed didn't like seeing rogue military forces running through the sector. Similarly it limited her ability to sell the services of Drydock or provide materials to those who didn't want to go through channels. Yes, the Raiders were certainly becoming a problem.

Victoria stretched, her athletic body stiff from a long day's work. "But can I really bear the idea of cooperating with Miles?" she asked herself. She puffed out a sigh, "I'll just have to keep rreminding myself it's business."

Victoria called up all the available data on the Raider's, reviewing their activities. Noting there were some holes in the information she fired off several requests for aditional data to headquarters, putting together a rough profile on what they might be dealing with. She noted the screen blurring under her gaze and wiped at her eyes, noticing how late it was.

"Time to get to bed, I think." Victoria got up and left her office, as always remembering to lock the door behind her.

It took a few days for the other shoe to drop. A wailing alarm jerked Victoria away from her paperwork and sent her hurrying to the command center, studying readouts until she found out the problem. A back-up fusion core in the station was malfunctioning and unless carefully nursed along into shutdown it could suffer a overload.

"Damn," Victoria muttered.

Rounding up one of her best techs Victoria headed down there, silently wishing that fusion reaction physics wasn't one of her specialties. If she hadn't that training she could be on a shuttle away from Drydock, not rushing towards a potentially dangerous situation. She stopped them at the door to use sensors to check the section for radiation, then they went in.

Victoria headed to the console, calling up status reports before blinking in surprise. "Telltales are all green?" she asked in surprise.

"Sorry about this, ma'am," the tech said, holding a pistol on her. Maya didn't look all that apologetic about it, actually, the brown haired girl watching her like a hawk.

"What's this about, Maya?" Victoria leaned casually against the console, watching the girl warily for some kind of opening.

"You shouldn't have sent that information request," Maya said quite seriously, "it attracted the wrong kind of attention."

"There's a leak at headquarters," Victoria realized.

Maya nodded just slightly. "Please cooperate and come with me," she said, "or I'll just have to shoot you here then overload the core to cover it up."

Victoria studied her. "I won't make this easier for you," she finally said.

"Then we'll just do this the hard way," Maya raised her gun.

The sound of the weapon going off was loud in the little chamber and Maya's eyes widened in surprise. She swayed for a moment then Maya crumpled, revealing the young woman who had silently entered the room a few moments earlier.

"Very well done," Victoria complimented Alielle as she knelt down beside Maya.

"Is she dead?" Alielle asked, the black haired girl sliding her pistol away.

"I hope not," Victoria calmly checked for a pulse as she continued on, "I want to try to get some answers from her."

To be continued...

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Ten**

Siobhan Ward smiled as they watched the three Raiders scatter, clearly surprised to see two military grade ships appear on their scanners. The black haired woman leaned forward, "Let's do this by the numbers, people."

Shane manned his station, the brown haired helmsmen smoothly echoing the course of the Venture to swing them each to one side of the ships. "We aren't going to be able to pin them down much with only two ships," he cautioned as he worked.

"How's the link to Venture's targeting systems?" Siobhan asked.

From her position at sciences Sylvie checked the boards. "Link is green," the silver haired woman agreed with a grin.

"Put Kelly on," Siobhan continued, "and let's get this show on the road."

Isis sounded amused from the tactical station, "Don't you mean Miles, captain?"

"She grows on you," was Siobhan's answer.

On a bottom corner of the main viewscreen an image of the bridge of the Venture appeared, Kelly Miles sitting in the captain's chair in the middle. "So, are you ready to spring our little surprise?" Kelly asked them with a smile.

"Oh yes," Siobhan said with a feral grin.

Smoothly and without warning both vessels fired their missile batteries, targeting with unearthly precision on one of the decommissioned battlecruisers the Raiders liked to use. The blocky, wedge shaped military craft's shields gradually dissipated under multiple strikes from the gravimetric missiles, then they broke through.

"Scratch one," Siobhan grinned.

The command datalink system was an new combat system, only that the most recent ships like the Venture had. Interlinking two or more warships with a secure data transfer, it allowed them to unleash coordinated barrages like the one they had just unleashed, powerful attacks that no enemy ship could easily withstand.

"The other battlecruiser and a armed freighter are attempting to flee the system," Isis reported as she quickly sorted all the combat data that coming in to tactical, "the damaged cruiser is launching life pods to the other ships."

"Do you want to pursue them?" Siobhan offered the choice to Kelly, feeling a sudden flash of irritation on the surprise on Rio's face. 'Does she think I want to run things,' she thought angrily, 'I'm an engineer, damn it.'

"No, let's get aboard the crippled Raider," Miles answered crisply, "if we can override any self destruct charges we might be able to extract some useful data from the systems."

"We'll meet you aboard," Siobhan agreed with a grin as they cut the connection.

"You're going aboard?" Sylvie asked.

"Of course," Siobhan grinned, her eyes sweeping the cramped bridge as she continued, "Isis, Sylvie, you're with me. Shane, mind the store while we're gone."

"Yo," Shane waved with a wry smile. "Everybody be careful, please," he added as they all quickly left the bridge.

In only a few minutes they were in the shuttle, speeding towards the now listing battlecruiser. Almost at the same time a second shuttle launched from the Venture even as the larger vessel took up a sentry position a short distance away. It was cramped in there, but they weren't going to be dealing with it too long.

"We're going to be docking soon," Sylvie said from the pilot's seat, the young woman a bit nervous in handling the small craft.

Siobhan winced at the thump when they docked, Isis running the sensors until she gave the all clear. They filed inside with the Venture's team right beside them, Kelly striding forward to join them. Behind her Rio looked around suspiciously while Jesse hefted a engineer's tool kit.

"The demolition charges in a ship like this are usually located in the engineering section," Miles said briskly, "we should get a team down there as soon as possible."

Siobhan shook her head, "Hold on a moment, Captain." She looked to Isis, "Find a terminal and get us any information on self destruct systems."

"Ma'am," Isis pulled a connector from her wrist then plugged into a nearby wall screen, eyes looking off to the distance as she rapidly scrolled through internal schematics.

"You think they added some nasty surprises?" Rio asked, the tactical officer unconsciously resting a hand on the pistol at her side.

"I would," Siobhan said dryly.

"Standard demolition charges are counting down in the engineering department," Isis calmly reported, "but a secondary device is in place beneath the command bridge, and the weapons locker has been primed to detonate as well."

"Time to detonation?" Kelly prompted.

"All three charges are tied together," Isis said after a moment's data search, "we have less than twenty minutes before they all blow."

Siobhan only took a second to come to a decision, giving orders smoothly, "Jesse, take Sylvie and handle Engineering, Miles, you and Isis head for the bridge. Rio and I will go for the weapons locker and see if we can defuse whatever's there."

"Sounds good," Kelly agreed, "but why you and Rio on the weapons locker?"

"If they've jury-rigged something with the weapons system," Rio quickly realized, "we're going to need an engineer and a weapon's expert to handle it."

"Bingo," Siobhan grabbed her spare tool kit and nearly ran out of the room, Rio following close behind her.

"Think we can disarm all three devices in the time we have?" Rio asked, the two jumping into a drop chute, following the standard route designed in all ships of this class.

"I'd say we have to," Siobhan answered as they reached the right level, charging down the hall to the weapons locker.

Rio grabbed the door and yanked before growling, "Jammed."

"Move back," Siobhan ordered as she braced herself, grabbing the handle with her cybernetic arm. In one smooth motion she tore the door from it's moorings and cast it aside, visibly wincing in pain as she did so.

"Are you...." Rio started to ask.

"Later," Siobhan limped a bit as they headed inside, "we've got work to do."

Energy rifles and sidearms were stacked along one wall, small explosives charges and other weapons stored around the room. In unspoken agreement Rio took one side and Siobhan the other, efficiently searching for any sign of the explosive device intended to destroy the weapons and much of the vessel around it.

"Oh hell," Rio's voice came from the other side of the room, then the other woman began to swear violently.

Siobhan joined her, examining the box that Rio had just opened. Her voice was unnaturally calm as she recognized it, "A missile's gravimetric charge that's been reconfigured to scuttle the ship, very clever."

"Don't waste time admiring their work," Rio growled, "can you disarm this?"

"Let's find out," Siobhan answered, setting her toolkit beside her then popping it open to reveal a eclectic mix of items. "Check the rest of the room," she added as she began to carefully remove the casing, "in case they left any more surprises."

Rio nervously circled the remaining section of the room, examining objects carefully even as the seconds ticked past into minutes. Finally Siobhan pulled a module out and set it aside, puffing out a breath in relief. "Is that...?" Rio had to ask.

"Yup," Siobhan looked very satisfied as she said, "the trigger is out, it's disarmed."

Rio activated her communicator and reported, "Jesse, Kelly, the weapons locker has been disarmed, what's your status?"

"Engineering is clear," Jesse answered smugly.

"The Bridge has been dealt with," Kelly said, "thanks in large part to Isis's assistance. Everyone meet up here, we've got more work to do."

"No rest for the wicked," Siobhan chuckled as Rio signed off.

"Hey, Siobhan?" Rio said. As the other woman looked up Rio smiled slightly, "Nice job."

"Thanks," Siobhan smiled back.

To be continued....


	6. Chapter 6

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Eleven**

The great space station floated in space, the ancient construct normally accompanied by two silvery shapes, but now there was a third. The former raider ship hung attached to the station by life-support connections, power links and transports tubes, the Venture and Revenge docked nearby.

Siobhan Ward, her long cloak flowing around her and Captain Kelly Miles walked to the raider's bridge, their voices rising as they argued. "No," Kelly said firmly, the blonde haired officer's eyes flashing, "I will not let you disassemble this ship for parts."

"This ship is a prize of war," the door to another compartment swished open as Siobhan gestured, the black haired woman's cybernetics gleaming, "I have the right to, damn it."

"I need this ship intact for evidence," Kelly said patiently, "or we'll never be able to prove who's behind these attacks."

Siobhan scowled, but she couldn't actually argue with that. "How's cracking the data-banks going?" she changed the subject.

"They're as paranoid as I'd expect," Kelly admitted as the bridge hatch loomed ahead of them, "all the encryptions are top notch. I've got Isis, Jesse and Rio working on it now, along with anybody else who has the time to help."

They entered into the bridge, looking around at the large command center. The design resembled the layout of the Venture's bridge, with a central command chair and stations space out around it. The main viewscreen was off, with the lights dimmed a bit by primary systems running on reserve power sources.

"Any luck on getting the fusion reactors online?" Kelly asked as they headed too where Isis was working away at one of the terminals.

"They did a good job crashing the drive computers before they bailed," Siobhan had the look of an annoyed engineer, "probably hoping the reactors might blow. I'm going to have to reprogram at least part of the system before we can bring them back online safely."

Isis looked up and smiled warmly, "Mother."

Kelly felt herself blushing again, Siobhan looking on in amusement. "Hello Isis," she answered, "how's the code breaking going?"

"I'm using several military decoding programs as well as several corporate models," Isis replied, "I believe I'll have their code cracked fairly soon."

"I'm impressed," Kelly smiled.

Isis shook her head, "Actually this is quite challenging. I was able to break the Fleet standard codes in less than an hour."

"Fleet codes?" Kelly blinked before tossing a suspicious glance to Siobhan. The taller woman just looked innocent and Kelly sighed softly.

"Comparatively, this is much more stimulating," Isis concluded.

"Where are Jesse and Rio?" Kelly frowned, noticing they weren't on the bridge.

"They found something interesting while reading the unencrypted files," Isis answered frankly, "I believe that they grabbed Dan and Shane and went to check it out."

"Wonder what sort of trouble they're getting into?" Siobhan mused aloud, looking amused.

Down in the engineering section Jesse frowned as the dark blonde said, "Come on, put your backs into it you two!"

"Why are we the ones doing all the heavy lifting?" Shane sighed, holding one end of the console, Dan on the other.

Rio looked amused, her short black hair falling into her eyes, "You certainly don't expect the two of us to do it?"

Dan groaned, the console hitting the ground with a thump. "So why are we down here again?" he asked, both men visibly out of breath.

Jesse knelt down in front of the exposed bulkhead, studying it thoughtfully. "Most non-engineers don't know that at this junction," she tapped the wall gently, listening, "there's a small compartment made by the connection of two prefabricated segments."

"And?" Shane asked tiredly.

"It's a bit of a tradition," Jesse said as she took a mono-filiment blade and began to cut into the wall, "engineers leave a message here, usually a list of staff and date of completion."

"Why is that important?" Dan asked after a moment.

"When we first came aboard I noticed that this ship was in surprisingly good condition," Rio said, "for a decommissioned ship that's seen service. The official records I found say that she served for fifteen years and was retired a year ago..."

"But records can be faked," Jesse tugged, yanking a section of the wall away to reveal writing inscribed on the inner wall. "This," she looked smug, "should be accurate."

"Oh shit," Dan murmured, reading the dates in seconds.

"This ship was built barely three years ago?!" Shane looked in confusion towards Rio, "What the hell does that mean?"

Rio looked grim, silently exchanging a glance with Jesse. "We won't know for sure until we go through the encrypted database," she said quietly, "but it looks like Fleet ordered this ship built, decommissioned it almost immediately and handed it over to the raiders."

There was dead silence as everyone processed that, as well as the implications. This wasn't just a few officers selling arms and equipment to criminals, if Rio was right it meant there was a substantial conspiracy within Fleet, the goals and purpose of which was still unknown.

"We'd better bring this to Kelly and Siobhan," Jesse finally broke the quiet, "they need to know about this as soon as possible."

Before any of them could move there was a soft chime before the shipwide announcement, "All crew report to the bridge, please."

"Wonderful," Shane scowled as they raced to the drop-shaft that would carry them up to the bridge deck, "wonder what's gone wrong know?"

"It could be good news," Dan offered mildly.

"I prefer to assume the worst," Shane flashed him a smile as he added, "I find I'm disappointed less often that way."

Reaching the bridge they found Kelly sitting in the command chair, Isis at tactical while Siobhan was under a nearby console, loudly cursing as she tried to re-route power to needed systems. The main viewscreen was on, a static clouded image of local space shining in front of them.

"To your stations," Kelly barked.

Isis was perfectly calm as she told Dan, "We've picked up a jump signature at the edge of the system, unknown origin."

Dan slid into the helm station, frowning at the limited data displayed there. "Can we really fight in this crippled ship?" he asked.

"Lucille is moving the Venture into position to defend," Shane reported from sensors, "and Sylvie is moving out with Revenge."

"Light up weapons systems," Kelly ordered.

Isis nodded as she worked, "It will look like we're fully armed, even if we can not actually fire in our current situation."

Jesse scooted underneath the primary junction with Siobhan, a few moments later the two women's combined efforts restoring full lighting to the bridge. "Thanks," Siobhan grinned at Jesse then looked at Kelly, "Should we hail them?"

"Ship identification?" Kelly ordered.

"A Fleet heavy escort craft," Shane reported after a moment, "about as well armed as the Venture, high density armor and shields. We can probably take it, but it'll be messy."

"Understood," Kelly nodded, weighing the situation. "Hail the ship," she ordered.

There was a moment's lag, then a very familiar face appeared on the screen, with a slightly dusky skin tone, curly black hair and dark eyes. Commander Victoria Donavan smiled slightly, "My weapons systems are powered down, I come in peace."

"I'll be damned," Siobhan growled out, eyes narrowing.

"Good to see you, too," Victoria nodded to her. She looked at Kelly, "I have information that may be of use to you, as well as a captive with a very interesting story to tell."

To be continued....

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Twelve**

The heavy escort craft dropped from hyperspace, emerging into a system that didn't have a name, just a numerical designation on a chart. A old red star glowed off in the distance, but they were completely ignoring the scenery. Instead the small starship was looking for something, a structure that they identified almost immediately.

"My god," the black haired young woman at helm blinked as they got their first view of the massive artificial space station. Alielle shook herself, bending over her controls as she reported, "I've got us on a standard approach."

Commander Victoria Donavan nodded, shifting back in the captain's chair. With her slightly dusky skin tone, curly black hair and dark eyes, she could be considered quite beautiful but there was a calculating look in her eye. "You know," she admitted, "I think I'm impressed."

The station that slowly began to fill their screen was a massive construction, dwarfing the three starships that hovered around it combined. The slowly turning disk was a deep gray marked with silver, and it gave the impression of immense age. It was also quite clearly alien, the construction subtlety different than human work.

Nearby the Venture hung, the oval ship resembling a thick metallic plate with an opening at the back for the vessel's drive exhaust. Spaced around the outer edge of the Venture were weapons modules, the communications systems, and beneath the hull plating itself the shield emitters. Along the bottom were hatches, designed to deploy landing vessels and other transport.

"What is THAT?" Fatora inquired, shaking her head in disbelief.

Moving out from the station the other ship took a defensive position, weapons powering up. It looked like several ships had been salvaged, pieces extracted and used to assemble the odd looking ship on the view screen. An angular, blocky front, a curved, rounded middle, what looked like a bridge module attached to the base of the craft, and an oversized engineering section wielded to the back. And painted on the side, a white skull and crossbones on black field.

"Siobhan Ward's work, I'd bet on it with a pile of credits taller than you are," Victoria said, her voice containing just a bit of admiration. Everyone knew Ward did good work, but to construct a hybrid vessel like that... it was remarkable.

"Getting weapons readings," Alielle reported crisply, "all three ships are powering up."

"Hail the ships," Victoria commanded. There was a moment's lag, then she saw the bridge of what looked like a Fleet vessel, one that was populated by several familiar figures. She smiled slightly, "My weapons systems are powered down, I come in peace."

"I'll be damned," Siobhan Ward growled out, eyes narrowing in anger.

"Good to see you, too," Victoria nodded to her, working to hide her surprise. Cyborgs were rare these days, with regeneration technology and all, not to mention unattractive. She looked over at Kelly Miles and with a cool formality said, "I have information that may be of use to you, as well as a captive with a very interesting story to tell."

Victoria's eyes roamed the bridge, quickly getting a sense of who was there. Rio and Jesse Kain from the Venture were there, of course, and with a shock she recognized the Isis android. Shane Lewellyn, the pilot who assisted Ward's disappearance was there, but oddly none of the other crew she was aware of.

"And how do we know you're not involved in this Raider's situation?" Kelly asked, the blonde studying her warily.

"You don't like me," Victoria acknowledged, "but have I ever chosen to do something that wasn't personally profitable?"

"I vote we blow her out of space," Siobhan said dryly, sapphire cybernetic eye shining, "it'd be a benefit to the species."

"Tempting," Rio admitted, the blue eyes, black haired woman's manner indicating she wasn't exactly joking around.

"A bit short sighted though," Shane volunteered reluctantly. The older man shrugged, "If she went to the trouble of tracking us down, we should find out why."

"He's got a point," Victoria decided that it was time to break into their debate. She paused a moment before adding, "And if it helps any, the people behind the Raiders tried to kill me, too." That caused a moment of silence on the other vessel's bridge, something that Victoria noted with some satisfaction.

Kelly studied her, and Victoria wished she knew what was going on behind those green eyes. Finally she said, "Dock with the space station, we'll meet there." Kelly paused, "And if you're messing with me you'll wish I had let Ward have you."

Alielle raised her eyebrows slightly as the other ship disconnected, then the image on the screen shifted to show the other three ships moving to dock. "I don't recall Captain Miles being that harsh," she offered tentatively.

"Do you want one of us on board with you?" Fatora asked Victoria as they moved towards the station and the other docking chute.

Victoria looked like she was considering it, then she shook her head. "I'll just bring our little friend over," she said firmly, "that should win me some points."

"How did you know they were here, ma'am?" Alielle asked wonderingly.

Victoria smiled humourlessly while the station grew larger on their screens, "Ward kept the lid on this place fairly well, but most merchant shippers are terrible gossips." Silently she added, 'Not to mention being able to blackmail one into telling me.'

"Very clever," Fatora smirked.

They slid smoothly into place, the reinforced docking chute locking on with a slight jolt to the airlock. As Victoria was leaving Alielle quietly said, "Be careful, ma'am."

"Always," was Victoria's calm answer as she left the bridge.

Waiting by the small craft's hatch her security officer held a unconscious woman, the tall woman's white hair flowing around her face. "Ma'am," Ifurita nodded as Donavan approached her, "I should be going over with you."

"No," Victoria said, "and I want you held in reserve, anyway."

"I'll be ready to move on your signal," Ifurita responded grimly, checking the pressure levels before opening up the outer hatch.

A few moment's later and Maya was secured, the black haired woman stunned and being dragged up the zero-gee passage to the space station. They reached the hatch and Victoria pressed the warning chime, the door sliding open soundlessly a few seconds later to reveal a grim Rio.

"Friend of yours?" Rio looked down at Maya then up at Victoria in suspicion.

"The officer who tried to kill me," Victoria said crisply, "I thought your captain would appreciate the chance to talk to her, too."

Rio frowned, but didn't argue as she helped Victoria haul Maya through the space station to the meeting room that Kelly had selected. Some of the usual suspects were waiting there, including Ward, Miles, the Isis android and now Rio.

"Commander Donavan," Kelly nodded seriously, "so glad you could join us." She raised a eyebrow at the unconscious girl but clearly decided not to ask just yet.

"Skip the pleasantries," Sio growled, "what do you want?"

"What I want is to protect my interests," Donavan answered grimly, "sadly that means I have to cooperate with you. So where is the rest of your merry crew?"

"Working," Isis said simply, the artificial girl studying Donavan expressionlessly. Her gaze strangely unnerved Donavan, piercing as she watched the other woman.

"Who's the kid?" Siobhan asked, looking with mild concern at the younger woman that Rio had helped Victoria Donavan haul there.

"Maya Ibuki," with a grunt of effort Donavan got the unconscious woman into a chair, "a tech officer on Drydock who tried to shoot me in a false emergency."

"Gee I wonder why?" Rio murmured to no one in particular.

Kelly gave her a scolding look, then turned her attention to Donavan. "You said you had information as well?" she asked.

"One of my people," Donavan wryly thought of the fearsome Ifurita, "illegally used chemical interrogation methods on Maya here."

Rio raised an eyebrow, "I thought Fleet officers were immune?"

"Not to what I can get my hands on," Donavan said smugly. She took a breath, her expression surprisingly serious, "The ones behind your Raiders aren't merely some corrupt sector commodore trying to line his pockets, we're dealing with a sizable faction within Fleet itself."

To be continued....


	7. Chapter 7

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Thirteen**

Later within the space station itself, a hasty meeting was being held. "No way in hell," Rio said fiercely, the black haired officer shaking her head as she continued, "there is no way Fleet is involved with the Raiders."

"Your innocence is so refreshing," Victoria Donovan answered dryly, the dusky skinned, curly black haired officer leaning against the wall.

Siobhan Ward watched Victoria coldly, but she quietly said, "Someone in Fleet tried to cripple or kill me so under the circumstances I'm not THAT surprised."

Kelly Miles raised a hand, stilling the side comments even as a few more of the others began to trickle inside. All around the large chamber men and women listened, as well as warily watching several of Donovan's people who had come aboard. Ifurita, Alielle and Fatora stuck by their mistress Victoria, while the crews of the Venture and Revenge sat around in various places.

Maya Ibuki sat slumped in the center of the room, improvised restraints holding the brown haired young woman fast to a chair. The story that she told had shaken them all, revealing that a sizable faction of their own Fleet had sponsored and armed the Raiders with military grade weapons, sending them out against the outlying sectors of space.

"What I don't get," Dan sighed, "is why?" The brown haired younger man shook his head, "What motive could someone in Fleet have?"

"Chaos," Fatora noted coldly. The slim brown haired woman continued her intelligence analysis, "The Raiders provide a excuse to move ships and crews, while the figure behind all this is gathering his forces under the pretext of hunting them down."

"I still can't believe who's behind it," Lucille muttered, " Colonel Brendan O'Rourke?!"

"Drydock is the largest Fleet base in the area," Rio noted reluctantly, "his being in command there would put him in a excellent position to pull this off."

"But O'Rourke has a sterling reputation," Shane noted from where he sat beside Sylvie, "how could he be caught up in this?"

"You damn fools," Maya looked up blearily, "we're not the criminals you think we are." She took a breath, "The corporations that run our government are bleeding the outer worlds dry, destroying lives just for the sake of profit."

"And a lot of the survivors came into Fleet because they had no where else to go," Siobhan noted softly, studying the young woman.

Maya nodded slightly, "It doesn't take long for stories to be exchanged, people realizing how much they were being abused and then coming together." Her eyes glittered, "But the Colonel is going to change all that."

"This sort of insurrection could break the government," Kelly quietly said, "the government we all swore our oaths to defend."

"And have they lived up to their responsibilities to us?" Maya demanded of the group fiercely. "I don't think so," she weakly muttered before exhaustion finally took it's toll, slumping unconscious in her chair.

"So what do we do now?" Jessie asked, the blonde perched on a inactive control surface, boot tapping against the side.

"If there is anything we can do," Dan said, expression just a bit shell-shocked, "with three ships up against everything he has."

"Make that four Ships," Victoria corrected him crisply. As everyone looked over at her in surprise she shrugged casually as she explained, "If I don't act, the authorities may assume I'm tangled up with O'Rourke."

"Trying to defeat the Raiders directly is impossible with our forces," Isis noted, "but we do not have to do that." She looked over at Kelly, "In the rush of events I did not have the chance to reveal that I had cracked the Raider's computers."

Kelly jerked up, looking at her in admiration. "What did you get?" she asked.

"Mother," Isis smiled just slightly, "I have decoded encrypted messages sent from Colonel O'Rourke, identified by his personal access codes."

"So we've got confirmation," Siobhan murmured, "too bad, I was almost hoping the was all a con by Victoria."

"Me, too," Rio conceded.

"Also, O'Rourke's central command post for his operations is Drydock, and therefore may be his one point of vulnerability," Isis continued calmly.

There was a moment of silence as they digested what she was saying then Alielle blurted out, "You're proposing we attack Drydock?!"

Shane blinked, but his expression was thoughtful as the older man considered, "The base's defensive shells of firepower can be maneuvered through, especially since we know how they're set up." He looked over at Dan, "You up to it?"

Dan puffed a breath out but his voice was firm, "Of course."

"You're both nuts," Ai murmured but she looked at Dan with unmistakable affection.

Ifurita stood near Victoria, keeping a wary eye on the group as the amazonian white haired woman asked, "Is it possible?"

"If the pilots are good enough," Victoria admitted, "and while our Alielle couldn't do it, Wisner and Llewellyn are both reputed to be quite good."

"It could put you in substantial danger, Mistress," Ifurita said, concern in her voice.

Victoria looked at Ifurita curiously, surprised by that tone of voice. 'I didn't program her for that,' she noted before saying aloud, "I don't have much choice, my being command rank at Drydock means I may be included if he is brought down...."

"Unless you assist in stopping him yourself," Ifurita finished.

"Before we get too far into this," Kelly stood up from where she was sitting, "I need to talk to Donovan, Ward and your command staffs."

Siobhan nodded, "I've got a compartment that should work well." She hesitated, "But... in five minutes, please?"

Kelly raised a eyebrow but nodded, "Of course."

Siobhan strode over to Donovan, meeting the shorter woman's eyes. "I want to talk to you in private," she tossed a look at Ifurita, "and you can leave your guard dog behind."

"Mistress," Ifurita cautioned.

Victoria studied Siobhan a moment then nodded slightly, "All right, Ward." Together they walked out of the room, a odd pair indeed.

"Think we should have let them go off?" Sylvie asked softly.

Shane shook his head, "No way Siobhan would kill her and be caught at it."

"That's not too comforting," Sylvie sighed wryly.

Siobhan led the way to a glass portal, the two of them looking out at the stars on the velvet background of space. They stood there a moment, silently, then she quietly said, "You know what I want to ask?"

"Speaking purely hypothetically," Victoria chose her words very carefully, "it could be that whomever set the explosion to injure you was unaware of your resistance to medical regeneration technologies."

Siobhan clenched her cybernetic hand, eyes flashing, "I ought to kill you."

"Whomever set the explosion probably had two plans," Victoria continued, "either you'd fail to stop the explosion and be hurt, or you'd not reach the device in time and be accused of negligence. Either way, you would be removed."

"Why are you telling me this?" Siobhan demanded.

"Your death would have profited me nothing, and your disappearance caused an investigation that shut me down for months," Victoria explained. A grim smile, "Whatever else I am, I am not a murderer."

With that Victoria walked away, leaving Siobhan staring after her thoughtfully....

To be continued...

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Fourteen**

Commander Ritsuko Akagi paused at the door, the tall, black haired woman's expression grim. She pressed the chime and waited, then the door slid open silently. Ritsuko strode up to the desk and saluted as she said, "Reporting as ordered, sir."

"Ease up on the formality," Colonel Brendan O'Rourke turned from looking out of the port. His brown hair was neatly trimmed, but his set of old fashioned glasses slid down occasionally from his blue-gray eyes. "How badly are we compromised," he asked seriously.

"Nearly completely," Ritsuko sighed as she sat down across from him. "Maya was head of a primary cell, it's why she was chosen to go after Donovan in the first place," she said grimly, "and she knows about the inner circle."

"We're not ready to be revealed publicly," Brendan sighed softly, "are you certain Donovan captured her alive?"

"Donovan took out her personal transport two and a half hours after the attempt on her life, along with her command staff," Ritsuko reported, "and Maya hasn't reported in." Quietly, "She believes in the cause, there's no way she'd turn."

"Fair enough," Brendan acknowledged, "so are we completely exposed?"

"Maya was inoculated against standard truth drugs," Ritsuko said, "but..."

"Donovan probably has access to more exotic means of interrogation," Brendan finished.

"The situation isn't quite that bad," Ritsuko pointed out, "they have Maya's data, but they do not have hard evidence to back any of it up."

"The Reliant hasn't reported in," Brendan shook his head, "they're already trying to crack it's computers, you can bet on it."

"Which will take weeks," Ritsuko said confidently, "and we've already got false evidence trails in place leading right to a fall guy."

"Where is Captain Misato Katsuragi?" Brendan asked after a moment's thought.

"Fleet maneuvers," Ritsuko answered, "she's getting the new wing of ships broken in."

"All right," Brendan nodded firmly, "then I want her to bring all of her ships over to this sector, as well as any ships locally with local Captains. To explain the movement of ships we're going to circulate the cover story that the Raiders are moving more aggressively, and that we need the additional ships for anti-piracy patrols."

"Do you think it's time to move?" Ritsuko asked.

"No," Brendan conceded, "but we may have no choice."

"And what about our Raider forces?" Ritsuko looked at him curiously.

Brendan looked down at his desk top a moment, his expression contemplative. "Stop all of their pirate activities," he said softly, "and instead concentrate on finding and destroying both the Revenge and Venture."

Ritsuko cautioned, "That'll confirm their suspicions."

"Trying to maintain full cover at this point would just be foolish," Brendan sighed softly, "not to mention a waste of time." A grim smile, "Put the word out to loyal officers to try to make it to this sector, as soon as possible."

"It's time?" Ritsuko asked.

"We've been hoping to have some more time to build up our forces," Brendan shrugged, "but if our estimates are right we already have at least parity with the loyal Fleet units. I'll talk to the sector Governor about it first, but if he agrees then it might just be time to officially declare our independence from the Commonwealth."

"A day we've all been waiting for," Ritsuko smiled. She got up, tiding her uniform as she said, "I'll put the word out." She walked to the door before she hesitated a moment, "Do you think Maya is all right?"

"They're Fleet," Brendan said reassuringly, "they won't hurt her." He sighed, "I don't know if we'll be able to recover her, though."

Ritsuko clenched her hand, her eyes closing, but she kept her voice steady. "Maya knew the risks," she said, leaving the office quietly.

The corridors of Drydock were busy as Ritsuko walked towards her own office, the science and engineering department. As she went Ritsuko found herself tallying the officers she passed, noting which were loyal to Fleet or their separatist movement and feeling mildly satisfied at how many of their people were here.

'Of course there are enough Fleet loyalist to make things messy if we move to take over,' Ritsuko thought as she entered her office, her lab coat fluttering over her regulation uniform. 'We'll need to get them out of the way, hopefully without giving them enough time to react,' she mused as she sat down at her desk.

Accessing the mainframes Ritsuko connected to the research telescopes on the far side of the station and reconfigured them, quickly setting them up as communications disks. Composing the message Ritsuko sent it out to the Raiders in a burst transmission that lasted barely a fraction of a second, then restored the system to it's default mode.

Then Ritsuko brought the regular communication systems on line, requesting a link to the starship Relentless. In seconds a familiar face appeared on her screen, the tough, black haired woman meeting her eyes calmly. "Commander Akagi," Misato said calmly, "this is a surprise."

"There's been a development at home," Ritsuko said, giving the code that they needed to communicate using a secure line.

Misato nodded just slightly and Ritsuko heard her inform her bridge that she would be in her office if needed. A few seconds later Misato reconnected, scramblers on that terminal making the transmission secure. "What's the situation?" Misato asked crisply.

"It may finally be go time," Ritsuko said softly.

Misato gave her a thoughtful look and noted, "You don't look as happy as I'd expect you to be, telling me that."

Ritsuko puffed out a breath, "That bitch Donovan has Maya captive."

"Shit," Misato bit out softly. She sat up in her chair as she asked, "Was Maya the one sent in to deal with Donovan?"

"Maya had the engineering skills to fake the emergency," Ritsuko sighed, "and I thought she could handle Donovan until back up arrived."

"You underestimated Donovan," Misato said, her tone helping take some of the sting out of her words. "Do you think she's taken Maya to Captain Miles?"

"That's what we're assuming," Ritsuko said, "Donovan has to know she can't trust anyone here, and Miles has a reputation for being squeaky clean."

"Unlike Donovan," Ritsuko muttered.

"This situation does make for strange bedfellows," Misato agreed. She looked thoughtful, "Do you want me to try to track down Miles? I could pretend to be a loyalist, maybe get her to turn Maya over to me."

"You have no idea how that tempts me," Ritsuko sighed, "but I can't risk our operations for one woman, even if she is my lover."

"There's always your insider in Mile's crew," Misato suggested.

"Our spy, yes," Ritsuko smiled slightly then she sobered as she continued, "but so far all we've asked the agent to do was pass on information, we haven't asked for anything that might go against the captain or her crew."

"Then maybe it's time to finally find out where our agent's loyalties really lie," Misato pointed out to her firmly.

Ritsuko considered it a moment from all the angles then she smiled. "All right, I'll send the burst transmission out to the receiver satellite," she said, "our agent can them download it from wherever they are and go to work."

To be continued....


	8. Chapter 8

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Fifteen**

The communications array floated in orbit around a earth-type star, a massive construct designed for several relatively simple purposes. It received transmissions from vessels in space, boosted them in power, then relayed them to their destination. As well it could hold sent data, releasing it in a cascade of information on request.

The data sent out from Misato Katsuragi's starship Relentless rested in the drives safely encoded for a day or so then was accessed, pouring out across the void to a terminal aboard the starship Venture. A code was typed in and it automatically deciphered itself, forming into a simple set of commands. They were read silently, memorized quickly, then with a keystroke erased.

The figure remained there a few moments, face lit by the viewscreen then softly asked, "So, what do I do now?"

0o0o0o0o0o0

The bridge of the Venture was quiet as the night watch worked, the band of men and women doing their jobs with simple efficiency as the ship floated out away from the massive station behind them. Lieutenant Dan Wisner was in command, a decidedly nervous place for the younger officer, but he seemed to be managing well enough.

"Does the captain have any new drills for us tonight?" Ensign Ai asked softly from her position at tactical, using the main sensors to scan space as they moved in a simple patrol pattern. The young lady's voice was gently teasing as she turned to look at Dan, and her smile had just a bit more warmth than average.

"I think Cap'n Miles is giving us a bit of a break tonight," Dan answered, a bit of a blush coloring his cheeks.

"Oh good," Eiko murmured from her seat at navigation.

"Lieutenant," Ai sounded a bit hesitant, "if you don't mind my asking, what has been going on over on Ward's station there? The Captain and most of the senior staff have been over there for days now."

Dan hesitated, thinking about some of the things that had been said. Deciding to be as general as possible he said, "We were provided with a Raider captive, the Captain and the others have been trying to find out everything they can from her."

"I heard she was from Fleet," Lucille Bevía said dryly from her seat at communications. Technically she outranked Dan, but because she wasn't command trained she was not allowed to take control of the bridge except in a emergency.

"Maybe she was once," Dan answered with a bit of fire in his voice, "but not any more."

"Fair enough," Eiko acknowledged.

The lift swished open and Jessie Kain emerged, the dark blonde carrying a data pad with her. "Lieutenant," she nodded to Dan as she walked up to him.

"I thought you were off duty?" Dan blinked in surprise.

"I was burning the midnight oil on some engine upgrades," Jessie admitted, "I was looking for the Captain. Is she aboard?"

"Still aboard the station," Dan nodded to the massive shape that filled a corner of the main screen, "plotting with Ward and Donovan, I assume."

"Then I'd better head over," Jessie frowned, "I don't want to activate any mods to the engine without Kelly's approval."

"Fair enough," Dan pressed a few keys on his chair's arm then said, "you're cleared to take out a personal shuttle."

"Thanks," Jessie waved as she left the bridge.

Aboard the space station Kelly Miles followed a humanoid servo mech down the fall, then into a small room. "Good evening," she said softly, the blonde captain looking at the young woman who glared at her from the small mattress.

Maya Ibuki sat up as the black haired woman asked, "What do you want?" Bitterly she continued, "You've already drugged me to get all the information you needed."

"I'm sorry about that," Kelly said as the servomech set down a plate of food for Maya then left silently, "but we didn't think we had much choice."

Maya got up and walked over to the small table. Kelly didn't seem armed so probably there was someone outside monitoring them, in case she tried something. Sitting down to eat she said, "I had heard you were a good Fleet officer, but if you're allied with Donovan...."

"This situation seems to make for strange bedfellows," Kelly said mildly as she sat not far away from her, adding with a grim smile, "much like your Fleet faction and the Raiders."

"True," Maya conceded as she ate hungrily. "So why are you here?" she demanded.

"I believe you in what you said were the reasons you joined this insurgency," Kelly said softly, "I don't agree, but I understand it."

Maya paused in her eating, "I looked into your background when we heard you were being sent out here. You're from a colony world too, in fact your planet is one of the worst hit by corporate abuses. How can you blindly continue to serve?"

"Well, not blindly," Kelly said with a shrug, "trust me, I'm well aware of the flaws in the system. I just believe that change has to happen within the system, not turning it over by force."

"Then you're a fool," Maya pointed at her with a fork, "the corporate masters will never surrender power easily. The only way we're ever going to change things is by force of arms."

"We'll just have to agree to disagree on that," Kelly answered. She studied the technician thoughtfully, "Is Colonel O'Rourke working with sector governor Yui Ikari?"

"I don't know," Maya answered bitterly, "as your damned chemicals could have told you."

"If you cooperate with us," Kelly softened her voice, "you may not be tried as a rebel, you know. It could save your life."

"Not interested," Maya shook her head.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kelly answered quietly, "I reviewed your record after Donovan brought you here, you have the potential to be a good officer." Suddenly the lights in the chamber flickered, then went out as she looked around in confusion. "What's going on?" she asked.

The door swished open and a figure raced inside, striking Kelly from behind and sending her sprawling to the floor. Smoothly she took up a stance and fired, her pistol blasting energy into the already stunned woman.

"Who?" Maya blurted.

"Come on," Jessie offered her hand to the young woman impatiently. When she just sat there Jessie gave the code phrase everyone in the movement should have known, "Redemption, damn it, now let's go!"

With that Maya raced to her side, looking up at Jessie in confusion as they ran out into the hallway. "You're one of us? she blinked. "But why didn't you act sooner?"

"I was trying to maintain my cover," Jessie said as she scanned the hall. She grabbed Maya's hand and led her roughly down the hall, "I've got allies covering the accesses and security post, but we don't have long."

"There's a cell aboard the Venture?" Maya blurted as they ran.

"I've been bringing in people slowly, but I'm making real progress," Jessie said as they reached a locked door, then typing in a access code. It swished open to reveal the dock, a shuttle connected to the station by a docking chute. "I've got a shuttle waiting, it's programmed with a course that will get you by our ships," she informed her.

"Right," Maya ran to the hatch then paused. "Did you kill Miles?"

"Dead women tell no tales," Jessie said harshly, "now go!"

Maya slid through the low gravity of the chute into the shuttle, then belted herself into the control seat. She activated the engines, tearing the little ship away from the dock and zipped into space. A preprogrammed course activated, sending her in a wild course across the system and safely through the patrol paths of the Venture and Revenge. Reaching the edge of the system the little craft paused, then silently entered into hyperspace.

"Do you think she bought it?" a quiet voice asked from behind Jessie as she monitored the shuttle's departure.

Jessie turned to nod to Kelly Miles. "Yes ma'am," she confirmed, "just like you planned."

"You didn't have to hit me quite that hard," Kelly rubbed at the back of her head, wincing slightly, "though firing those blanks into me was a nice touch."

"Sorry Captain, but I wanted it to look good," Jessie looked sheepish. They walked out of the room together, "I didn't expect you to do this, when I revealed to you that I was a sympathizer and told you my orders to free Maya."

"The fact that you confessed indicates to me where your loyalties lie," Kelly shrugged. "Holding Maya doesn't help us at this point, and I suspect that you messed with the shuttles navigation computer so they can't trace it back to our location."

"Of course," Jessie smiled.

"The only thing I'm still curious about," Kelly looked at Jessie curiously, "was why you joined them in the first place."

"They contacted me shortly after it looked like Siobhan had been killed by Donovan," Jessie explained quietly as they walked, "I was so angry at Fleet and the system that let people like Donovan thrive I was a pretty easy mark for them at that point."

"I understand," Miles nodded slightly.

To be continued....

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Sixteen**

"So," Siobhan Ward looked around the room, the tall pirate's face touched by a slight smile, "we've made up our minds?" Her cybernetic eye glowed in the meeting room, her black hair gleaming with coppery highlights as she leaned forward eagerly.

"I think so," Kelly Miles said with a short nod, her blonde hair shining. She looked around the room and addressed everyone, "Normally I'd just command my crew, but this is a unusual situation. I want everyone to know this is a volunteer caper, and anyone who does not choose to go tomorrow won't be reprimanded."

"Ma'am," Rio protested, her black hair slightly messy from her day's exertions. An unlit cigarette dangled from the corner of her mouth, that the only sign of the stress the officer was under.

"This is an unusual situation," Miles reminded her, "and you know it."

"I suppose anyone who doesn't want to fight could stay here on the station," Shane conceded, his brown hair tied back into a rough pony-tail. He hesitated, then stood up as he offered his hand to the lovely young lady beside him.

"Yes?" Sylvie asked, taking it as the silvery haired woman rose to stand beside him.

"If we're going off to be shot at tomorrow, you and I are going to have one hell of a time tonight," Shane grinned as both strode from the room.

Dan shook his head, the tall, brown haired young man smiling wryly. "I guess I can understand that," he murmured then stiffened as a gentle hand rested on his back.

Ai smiled at him slightly, standing beside him in the compartment. "You doing anything tonight?" Ai asked him softly.

"Ah, no not really..." Dan stammered.

Ai gave him a exasperated look, "Sorry for being so bold, but we really don't have the time." With that she took Dan's arm and tugged him away with her.

Victoria Donovan frowned as she saw Alielle and Fatora slip away together, holding hands in an obviously intimate matter. It appeared that everyone had much the same idea tonight, taking this opportunity to be with the one they loved before the mission went tomorrow. Part of her wanted to curse her subordinate's actions, but she held her tongue knowing that someone like Kelly Miles would object to her words.

"Ma'am" Ifurita looked at her questioningly, the tall, silver haired bodyguard standing by her side, "is there something wrong?"

"No, just thinking," Victoria answered, curly black hair resting against her dusky skin.

"Don't worry," Ifurita said to her firmly, "whatever happens tomorrow, whatever comes... I will protect you."

Victoria blinked in surprise at the white haired woman in surprise, stunned at hearing such... caring in her tone of voice. Ifurita was a synthezoid, a creation of technology based off the Isis designs, she wasn't supposed to feel anything at all. Over the past five years Ifurita had guarded her, always by her side, and she had grown comfortable in her presence.

"Thank you," Victoria answered, feeling faintly surprised that she meant every word.

In singles or pairs everyone gradually left the overlarge compartment, moving out into the massive space station or back to the Venture or Revenge. Hidden caches of booze or treats were hauled out, friends and lovers were called, and as the night wore on a party atmosphere formed amid the two allied crews.

Rio looked out the portal at the unfamiliar stars, the cold light making the hulls of the ships floating out in the void gleam. She drew on her cigarette, blowing out the smoke then sighing as she felt a presence, "Who is it?"

Siobhan Ward walked up, her black bodysuit hugging her body and a bottle of amber fluid in her hand. "Sorry," she didn't sound terribly apologetic, "I hadn't realized someone had found my favorite private spot."

"Guess our tastes are more similar that I thought," Rio conceded after a moment.

"Guess so," Siobhan took a drink from her bottle. They stood side by side looking out at the ships and stars then quietly Siobhan said, "I don't understand it."

"What?" Rio raised an eyebrow.

"You're the kind of officer I hate," Siobhan said flatly, "you're spit and polish, a rules lawyer, hell you probably sleep at attention." A long pause, "So why the hell do I find myself looking at you, wondering what's going on behind those impassive eyes?"

"Probably for the same reason you're detracting me at meetings, Ward," Rio answered frankly, "which is pretty annoying, considering I should be on the job."

"I'll be damned," Siobhan muttered. They stood there a few seconds, watching the ships drift by, "So what do we do about it?"

"Who says we should do anything?" Rio sighed. She took another puff on her cigarette as she mused, "The smart part of me says that it'd be pretty stupid starting something the day before we go into battle."

"Makes no sense whatever," Siobhan agreed, "now shut up and kiss me."

"Giving me orders now?" Rio raised an eyebrow as she tossed her cigarette aside, leaned forward and kissed her.

Jessie Kain turned from where she lingered in a doorway, a blush coloring her cheeks. "Those two?" she blinked, the dark blonde shaking her head in mild disbelief.

Seeing Siobhan walking with her bottle of booze Jessie had planned to follow her, then when she was all alone talk to her about their past.. and how Jessie felt about her. But just as Jessie had been getting up her nerve she saw Siobhan enter this compartment, see Rio.. and things had hurried on beyond her control.

"Hey," Lucille Bevía gave Jessie a grin as she headed in the direction Jessie just left, "want to join me in some star watching?"

Jessie reached out a hand to stop her, "I think that room's occupied."

"Ah," Lucille grinned knowingly, her brown hair tucked away beneath her cap. She gave Jessie a perceptive look, "You all right?"

"No," Jessie admitted wryly.

They fell into step quietly as Lucille said, "Well, I have the bad luck being dateless tonight, too. You want to go share an okay bottle of wine and talk?"

"What the hell," Jessie sighed as they walked off together.

The morning came announced by a chime, not the sunrise, and Kelly Miles found she wished it had come later. Slipping out of bed she walked to she shower then dressed, making sure her uniform was crisp and neat.

The halls were quiet, only the occasional crew member nodding greetings as Kelly walked to the lifts, then up to the bridge. As she traveled her mind raced, considering possibilities. Kelly had meant it when she offered to let crew stay behind, but the idea of losing part or all of her crew before a battle was worrying to say the least.

"Here we go," Kelly murmured outside the bridge door, then opened it.

Rio got up from the captain's chair, throwing her a salute. Lucille's voice rang out, "Captain on the bridge!"

"Morning," Kelly said, eyes sweeping the bridge and glad to see the familiar faces. Dan on navigation, Ai covering tactical, Jessie at engineering, the whole gang was there.

"Nothing unusual to report, ma'am," Rio smiled.

"Thank you," Kelly said as she took her seat. Bracing herself she asked, "How many crew are staying behind?"

"None," Rio said with some satisfaction.

As Kelly blinked in surprise Dan spoke up, "You think any of us want to miss this?"

"Besides," Jessie added, "none of us are the types to run away from a fight."

"You got that right," Rio agreed, relieving Ai and taking position at tactical.

Kelly took a deep breath, fighting back her delighted grin. "All right, get Donovan and Siobhan on screen," she said, "it's time to move out."

To be continued....


	9. Chapter 9

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Seventeen**

Lt. Commander Strife Aileron looked out from the bridge of the Yamato, one of the light cruisers that circled the outer ring of Drydock's defensive shell, and the ship's commander wondered what the hell was going on. The white haired younger man reflexedly put a cigarette in his mouth, moving to light it....

"Sir!" Val Moreau, his second in command spoke up, "no smoking on the bridge!"

Snikt! Strife closed his lighter and stuffed it away in a breast pocket of his uniform, scowling. "Are there any updates from Drydock?" he asked calmly, stuffing the cigarette away in the packet for after his shift.

Val shook her head reluctantly, "No, Sir. We're holding position in case the expected Raider assault force hits."

"Which we both know is a load of garbage," Strife muttered.

"Sir," Val cautioned softly, her gaze sweeping the bridge to remind him not everyone was as informed as they were.

"Incoming transit!" Danielle barked from navigation, the brown haired woman leaning forward in her chair.

"Weapons lock," Strife ordered as he returned to the captain's seat, sitting down then leaning forward aggressively as he demanded, "get me an identification of the vessel, now!"

Sgt. Alithea didn't look up from tactical, the purple haired woman focused on her work. "Fleet shuttle," she identified it, "transponder says it's from the Venture."

"I'll be damned," Val murmured softly.

"Hail it," Strife ordered, his thoughts racing. The Venture had disappeared months ago in this region, and there were garbled reports of it engaging the Raiders. As a member of the insurrection he knew it was true, but why would Miles send a shuttle here...?

"This is Lt. Commander Maya Ibuki of Drydock," the black haired woman said as her face appeared on the screen, "do not fire!" Her face was haggard, exhausted, and she looked like she was about to fall over.

"Is that the officer the renegade Donovan abducted?" Danielle blurted.

"Yes," Val kept her voice calm. "We recognize you, ma'am, do you need immediate assistance?" she asked.

Maya slumped tiredly in her seat. "Just get me to Drydock," she said with a sigh, "Colonel O'Rourke needs to hear my report."

The Yamato contacted Drydock and in moments a escort craft connected with the shuttle, racing back to the massive construction and repair base. Waiting at the ship docks was Commander Ritsuko Akagi, the black haired research officer's expression carefully blank as medical officers raced to look Maya over.

"How is she?" Ritsuko finally asked impatiently.

Makoto looked up, his long brown hair falling into his eyes. "She's mostly suffering from exhaustion," he said, "she needs bed rest, as soon as possible."

Maya tried to shrug him off, "I'm fine, just... tired."

Ritsuko fought back a small smile, then she looked up at Makoto and using her command voice said, "Thank you, officer, I'll take care of her."

"Ma'am," Makoto nodded and the med team left.

Ritsuko waited till they were gone then swiftly enfolded Maya in her arms, holding her close. "I was so scared I'd never see you again," she whispered into her ear.

"Me too," Maya sighed, shifting a bit to kiss the taller woman lingeringly on the lips. Reluctantly drawing back Maya said softly, "I'm sorry, but I need to see the Colonel. I have bad news and a bit of good."

"He cleared his schedule as soon as we heard you were back," Ritsuko said, offering a bit of support as they hurried through the halls to the Colonel's office in the core of Drydock.

Colonel Brendan O'Rourke looked up from his paperwork covered desk, his lips curling up in a smile as he said, "Welcome home, Lt. Commander."

"Sir," Maya saluted, her eyes widening as she saw the woman sitting nearby.

Sector Governor Yui Ikari was off to the side, her brown hair falling into her eyes. "You look like you've had a rough time," her eyes narrowed in concern, "why aren't you in sickbay?"

"She insisted on giving her report first," Ritsuko explained, gazing at Maya fondly.

Maya gave the Colonel a confused look, "Sir, I..."

"It's all right," Brendan pushed his glasses up to his blue-gray eyes, "the Governor is involved in the highest levels with our crusade."

Maya swayed, a odd mixture of confusion and relief on her face. "I'm glad I didn't know that before," she admitted, "because Donovan, Mils and Ward know everything else I did."

"Here," Ritsuko helped the exhausted woman sit.

"We've already taken steps to prepare for disclosure," Brendan said, pushing his brown hair back, "but we'll fully debrief you on what you were forced to reveal later."

"After you've had some bed rest," Yui added as Maya was about to protest the delay. "We know they used chemical interrogation methods," she added, "it wasn't your fault, officer."

"Thank you," Maya slumped, a single tear falling down her face before she wiped it off with the back of her hand.

"You said you had some good news?" Ritsuko asked softly, gently squeezing Maya's shoulder in comfort.

Maya smiled up at her in gratitude, then turned to face her leaders. "There is a substantial cell aboard the Venture," she revealed, "and their leader, Jessie Kain, has killed Captain Kelly Miles."

"Confirmed?" Brendan sat up in surprise.

"I saw her shoot Miles right in front of me," Maya confirmed, feeling a bit of regret over the death of an officer with such potential, "when she assisted my escape."

"That is good news," Yui agreed, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Very," Brendan agreed. Seeing how badly Maya was slumping in her seat he made a fast decision, "Maya, I'm ordering you to your quarters or sickbay for bed rest, at least eight hours. We'll continue your debriefing them."

"Sir," Maya was too weary to do much more than nod in gratitude before Ritsuko gently helped her up and leave.

Yui looked over at Brendan after they were gone, "What do you think?"

"I'm not getting my hopes up too much," Brendan said. "Miles' second in command Rio will step up to captain the Venture and Ward and Donovan will continue to move against us."

"About what I thought," Yui agreed, standing as she straightened her suit calmly, the formal wear giving her a certain elegance. "Do you think it's a coincidence that she arrived just before we were going to make the announcement?"

"Maybe not a coincidence," Brendan offered as they left the office together, "but fate?"

Yui smiled up at him in surprise as they entered the lift and said, "I never thought of you as a romantic."

Brendan chuckled as he pressed the switch to send them to the bridge. "I try to be unpredictable," he conceded.

The door opened with a sigh and they stepped out onto the massive command center, layers of stations circling it to handle duties all over the station. "Command on the bridge," Captain Rei Ayanami stood at attention, her ice-blue hair in a short, military cut..

"Captain," Brendan nodded. Raising his voice he said, "Prepare for Priority one transmission, Delta mode, please."

Rei turned to her crew, watching a moment before she got confirmation from her second in command, Commander Asuka Soryu. "Priority one ready," she turned to Brendan, "the Delta mode will cut into all civilian and military communication channels."

Yui stepped forward, straightening her suit reflexedly. "Begin transmission," Yui ordered, waiting till the go light activated. "This is Governor Yui Ikari," she said formally, with a announcement for the entire Interstellar Commonwealth." Yui could feel the eyes of the command deck on her, the support from them and drew strength for what she was about to say. "For nearly a year now raiders have attacked the worlds in this sector, and our local Fleet forces have been unable to stop them despite their best efforts."

"My god," Val murmured as she watched the transmission on the bridge of the Yamato, "they're taking the final step."

"Yep," Strife lit his cigarette at last, knowing that his second in command was too distracted at this point to notice.

"And we all know why," Yui continued, "because we're a fringe sector, and the corporate worlds that run our government don't care. They sent the smallest number of ships they could to help, not caring about the deaths of innocents out here."

"Which is a bald faced lie," Brendan thought as he saw his own crew eating up the speech, "but it doesn't matter now."

"It is because of this I have been forced to take drastic steps," Yui said. She took a deep breath, "As governor of sectors 00, 01 and 02 under emergency act 2015 I am formally withdrawing them from the Commonwealth and declaring our independence." You could hear a pin drop, "All fleet captains and crews sympathetic with our cause are requested to sign on with our new system Fleet, and all independent vessels within range of this transmission are invited to join, too."

"End transmission," Brendan softly ordered. He looked over to meet Yui's eyes, "We're finally out in the open."

"Yes," Yui nodded, "it finally begins."

To be continued....

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Eighteen**

Captain Siobhan Ward sat on the bridge of the Revenge, her black hair showing the faintest sign of coppery highlights. "ETA to Drydock?" she asked, her cybernetic eye glowing in the subdued lighting.

"Five hours to go," Shane Llywellyn reported from the helm, his long brown hair tied back in a simple ponytail, "our week long trip is nearly done."

"What do you think of the transmissions that we picked up when we dropped out of hyperspace?" Sylvie asked from where she sat at her modified communications console just behind Siobhan.

"The sector governor succeeding from the Commonwealth?" Siobhan smiled grimly. "I think the timing smells."

"It's most unusual," Isis calmly agreed. The artificial woman looked thoughtful as she continued to speak, "The chance they Governor Ikari's decision is unplanned has a probability lower than 20."

"The question is," Shane smiled grimly as they soared on through hyperspace, "is Yui Ikari involved in the raider's plot or is it a coincidence?"

"She could just be a dupe for O'Rourke." Siobhan softly mused, "or into the plot up to her eyebrows. Wish we knew which."

"Both options require different tactical responses," Isis agreed. "If Ikari is being manipulated we could simply reveal O'Rourke's deception and rely on her to deal with him, but if she's a collaborator it becomes much more complicated."

"You got that right," Sylvie agreed. She hesitated, "I'm still processing all the messages we stopped to download, but if what I'm reading is correct then a lot of ships are moving to support Ikari."

"Maybe so, but it doesn't make what they're doing right," Shane countered.

"That's not what I meant," Sylvie scolded him, "I just mean there are going to be a lot of innocent people between us and O'Rourke."

"Agreed," Shane said.

"Hopefully my plan will get us through them," Siobhan said seriously.

In fact it wasn't entirely her plan, but Siobhan had a pretty good idea how their actions were going to be taken later. She no longer had a career in the navy, unlike the crew of the Venture, so taking responsibility for what they were going to do would cost her very little, really.

"Our plan," Isis corrected calmly.

Siobhan opened her mouth to press the issue when she saw her people looking at her and the determination in her crew's eyes. 'Well,' Siobhan sat back as she thought, 'I guess we'll all just be outlaws together.'

Beside them in hyperspace yet separated by the unique nature of that other realm, the disk shaped Venture raced forward with purpose. It's crew nearly hummed with energy, driven with purpose and a determination to see this through to the end.

Captain Kelly Miles sat at the desk in her office, finishing up a log entry detailing their theories and evidence regarding the Raiders and their activities. "... we're currently en route to Drydock to attempt to resolve the situation," the blonde officer concluded.

With a few keystrokes Kelly downloaded the information to an emergency buoy, one they would drop as soon as they emerged from hyperspace. If the worst happened the log entries would survive and hopefully be used to deal with the raiders.

"Thought I'd find you here," Rio said as she walked in, the taller officer looking at her with gentle sympathy.

"Just getting that log we discussed ready," Kelly said briskly.

"You're not confessing to anything we'll get hanged for later?" Rio asked as she pulled out a chair and sat down.

"No too much," Kelly managed a slight smile as she drank some coffee.

"We're just about there," Rio reported, "it's time."

"Guess so," Kelly got up as she murmured, "and may whatever higher powers forgive us for what we're about to do."

"Amen," Rio agreed as she followed her back to the bridge.

"Captain on the bridge," Dan declared as they entered, practically leaping out of the captain's chair.

"At ease," Kelly smiled as she took her seat, "status report?"

"Communications are go," Lucille said calmly, the brown haired officer still wearing one of her many baseball caps.

Dan Wisner took his seat as he did a fast run through, "Navigation all clear."

Rio sat confidently, "Weapons charged, missiles ready."

"Engineering's a go," Jessie Kain said from the backup station on the bridge, "and control of the captured Raider ship is working fine."

"Good," Kelly took her seat, her expression revealing non of the mixed feelings she was having about their current course of action. "When will we be in position to launch our little surprise?" she asked.

"The program is already running," Jessie said confidently, "it'll activate on cue."

"Dan," Kelly addressed him, "we'll be emerging into a debris field, be ready to dodge weapons fire and wreckage."

"Ready." Dan seemed to caress the controls, "Trust me, nobody is going to hurt the Venture, not if I can help it."

"Timer's started," Jesse spoke up after a moment, "twenty seconds."

"Poor bastards," Rio murmured, "they may never know what hit em."

Lt. Commander Strife Aileron stood on the bridge of the Yamato, the white haired man gazing out at the fleet of ships that now surrounded Drydock. It was a impressive force by any measure, nearly a thousand ships, many of them warships or weapon's equipped. It still didn't rival the Commonwealth fleet but it didn't have to... they just had to hold out against any local forces until their sovereignty was recognized.

"Stop pacing," Val Moreau stepped up beside him, his second of command giving him a look, "it's bad for morale."

Reluctantly Strife stopped, instead leaning up against the railing before the main viewscreen. "You feel it?" he asked.

"Something wrong?" Val asked calmly.

"It's been well over a week since Ibuki managed to escape from Miles," Strife said seriously, "why haven't they moved?"

"With Miles dead they may not be willing to move," Val offered.

Strife shook his head, "Siobhan Ward is with them, supposedly."

Val raised a eyebrow, "So?"

"She may be a engineer by trade but Ward had a rep for not quitting," Strife leaned forward a bit, "even if the Venture quit, she wouldn't." There was regret in his voice, "I wish we could have recruited her."

"Incoming transit!" Danielle cried from her station.

"Battle stations," Strife said as he raced to the captain's chair, "where is it?"

"The readings are," Danielle worked her controls then the brown haired woman paled, "It's nearly RIGHT ON TOP OF US!"

Strife's eyes widened, "Son of a..."

There are certain physical laws that can only be broken at your peril. One of the earliest problems with hyperspace transit was the discovery that if you emerged without care you could intermix your vessel with another. The deaths themselves were tragic, but worse was the explosion that followed, much like the igniting of a small sun.

Operated on remote control the captured Raider ship emerged from hyperspace in the middle of the defensive fleet, in the process intermixing with both the Enterprise and Constitution. All three vessels exploded as something very like nuclear fusion occurred, them blasted outward in a blaze of energy and radiation. Over a hundred ships died in the fireball, and hundreds more were left blind and deaf from the electromagnetic pulse.

Into the gap emerged the Venture, Revenge and a third courier ship, sweeping through the stunned ships like they weren't even there. "All right," Kelly said calmly, "let's go talk to Colonel O'Rourke."

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Nineteen**

The command deck of Drydock bustled with life, men and women hurrying back and forth as they went about their duties. Of course there was a new energy in this place now, a urgency provided by the sector governor declaring their independence as well as using this place as her headquarters. Where previously they had concentrated on managing repairs and shipping schedules, they now readied for the possibility of combat.

Maya Ibuki, looking much better than she had only a few days ago, worked coolly on the sensors, the brown haired woman vigilantly watching the area around them for anything odd. Together with their communications officer Kyoko Soryu, they guided the massive fleet guarding Drydock to potential threats.

"Spacial disruption," Maya noted, her brown hair falling into her eyes, "near the outer rim of defensive envelope, area epsilon. Likely a vessel transiting in."

"Directing ships to move in," Kyoko said, her orange hair falling in a messy wave down her back, "hailing Captain Strife Aileron of the Yamato to investigate. Hopefully it's another new recruit to our cause."

'Let's hope,' Ritsuko Akagi thought with a smile, the blonde haired engineering officer watching her crew efficiently working. 'I'm so glad Maya has recovered,' she silently mused, 'she was so ragged after escaping Miles.'

Maya's eyes widened as she saw something amiss then blurted out, "Order the ships back, now! Maximum speed!"

"Wha...?" Kyoko looked at her in confusion even as the view screen in front of them suddenly showed a flash of light.

"Report!" Captain Rei Ayanami demanded even as she saw with sick horror the expanding fireball in their ships, like a sun had ignited out there amid the ships, burning them to ash even as a pulse of immense energy blinded anything nearby. Then the shockwave hit the station itself and it felt like the deck heaved itself up, lights flickering as electronics flared and systems failed.

Her voice oddly dull with shock Maya said, "A vessel emerging from hyperspace transit intersected with a ship of the fleet."

"Oh my god..." Kyoko breathed out in horror.

"Start hailing ships," Rei forced herself to think as the blue haired woman continued, "we need to find out how bad this accident was, how many ships we've lost." She turned to her second in command Ritsuko, "Get Governor Ikari up, and notify the Colonel too."

"Do you think it's necessary?" Ritsuko asked as she activated the ship's internal communications network.

"I don't know," Rei answered honestly, "but I'm not about to take the chance."

"Sensors are partially down," Maya reported grimly, "but I'm picking up something..."

The lift doors opened and Colonel Brendan O'Rourke staggered onto the bridge, holding on to the bulkhead as the station rocked. "What the hell is going on?" the brown haired man demanded, his glasses sliding down his nose.

"Still attempting to confirm," Rei reported calmly, looking more like a statue than a human officer. "Maya?" she asked.

Maya worked hard to try to clear the static the electromagnetic pulse from the explosion had left in her precious sensors. Her eyes widened as she finally began to get readings, "Two unidentified vessels, incoming!"

"On screen," Rei ordered, "get me a visual identification."

The main screen's image shifted, showing two blurred shapes swiftly moving through the debris left over by the powerful blast, a third trailing behind. "Oh hell," Ritsuko murmured, recognizing the rough shapes but praying she was wrong.

"Kyoko, can we match them to our database of Fleet vessels?" Rei asked.

The image cleared up due to Maya's efforts, even as their own fleet began to respond, moving to intercept the new ships. The one looked like a patchwork model, assembled from several different ships in a unusual design, but the other was clearly Fleet issue. A gleaming silver disk it swept forward, cutting through space like a knife.

"Confirmed, it's the Venture," Kyoko said after a moment, "we've tentatively identified the other ship as the Revenge and the third is Donovan's ship."

"Damn," Brendan murmured, his eyes sweeping the bridge even as he assessed the situation. 'Those bastards,' he thought as a terrible thought occurred to him.

"Sir?" Ritsuko looked over at him.

"They did this deliberately," Brendan said quietly with real venom in his voice as he growled, "somehow, they deliberately crashed a starship into our lines and slaughtered I have no idea how many ships."

"I would assume over a hundred ships," Rei said calmly, "and the pulse has crippled hundreds more." Raising her voice she addressed Kyoko, "Hail all ships, it's time to destroy the Venture once and for all!"

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Think they've noticed we're here?" Rio asked, the tactical officer keeping her hands lightly on her controls, ready to send missles or beams lancing towards the enemy.

"They know," Kelly Miles said, checking a terminal mounted beside her captain's chair. While their local area was filled only with debris and inactive vessels, the surviving ships on the far side of Drydock were mobilizing.

"Dan, ready?" Rio asked, a dangerous smile tugging on her lips.

Lieutenant Dan Wisner nodded tensely, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he skillfully took them through the wreckage. "We'd better hope Shane can keep up," he said with a smile of his own.

"I heard that," Shane's amused voice came through on the tight beam communications link between the three ships, "You'll be lucky to keep up with me, kid."

"Kid?!"

"We're ready as well," Fatora reported.

"Still going with the plan, Miles?" Victoria Donovan demanded from her third ship, the smaller bug agile craft gliding through the wrecks.

"I don't see why not," Kelly said mildly. She swept her bridge crew with her eyes, drawing confidence from their confidence in her, then said, "Let's move out."

Siobhan Ward was the first to spot them, the hybrid sensors of her Revenge cutting through the clutter around them easily. "Incoming," the black haired woman warned, her cybernetics gleaming, "ten ships and more on the way."

"Preparing targeting solutions," Rio barked, fingers flying on her controls as they raced through space towards Drydock.

"Shoot to cripple," Kelly called out, watching as destroyers and dreadnaughts neared, the ships dwarfing them substantially.

Rio snarled softly, "That'll slow us down."

With a hint of pain in her voice Miles addressed Rio alone, "We've already got enough ghosts haunting us with our enterance alone, I don't want to add to it."

"Do my best," Rio conceded.

From her station at communications Lucille Bevia spoke up, the light brown haired woman unusually serious, "We're being hailed."

"On screen," Kelly commended, "let's hear what they have to say."

The screen flared as a exterior shot of space was replaced by the busy command deck of Drydock. Captain Rei Ayanami was pale, her blue hair and red eyes striking, but what they all found most noticeable was how her uniform had been carefully cleaned of Fleet designations, patches and insignia replaced by a new symbol, the sector governor's crest.

"Son of a..." Dan murmured softly.

"Commonwealth starship Venture," Rei said to them flatly, "you are ordered to stand down immediately or be destroyed..."

"You're alive?!" Maya blurted out, the Drydock officer clearly having seen Kelly Miles on their view screen, too.

Miles rose gracefully, standing as she smiled slightly. "I have a counter offer, Captain Ayanami," she said calmly.

"Oh?" Rei looked questioning.

Quietly Rio whispered to Kelly, 'Enemy is nearing firing range. I'm letting them take the first shot, as ordered.'

'Good,' Kelly whispered back. Raising her voice to the Drydock staff Kelly said, "Surrender Colonel O'Rourke and any other staff that participated, sponsored or aided in Raider attacks for trial, and we will leave the system in peace."

"I can't do that," Rei said.

"Didn't think so," Kelly conceded. "Cut transmission," she moved back to her seat, "all hands to battle stations."

"Enemy firing!" Rio barked even as she launched a flight of missiles.

"Brace yourselves," Dan yelled as she cut the safeties and wrenched the ship into a sudden turn, getting them clear of the first shots with feet to spare.

"Could we go back?" Lucille asked, "I think I left my stomach back there."

To be continued...

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Twenty**

The Venture bucked wildly as they were hammered by another near miss, Dan's sharp reflexes getting them through another wave of incoming missiles and energy beams. He puffed a strand of brown hair out of his eyes as he said, "I've got a window in their defense screen, we'll be there in a minute or so."

Captain Kelly Miles nodded grimly, tightly holding on to the command chair as the ship bucked and swerved too fast for the internal dampers to keep up with. The blonde haired woman narrowed her green eyes, "Ready the emergency docking system, we're going to have to do this fast and dirty."

Rio pressed the firing stud, the grim faced woman sending out another salvo of missiles flying even as their beam weapons lashed out to blast another ship coming at them. "You sure we need to do that?" she asked.

"No other way," Kelly answered, "unless Ayanami changes her mind about surrendering the Raider's commanders."

"Hail from the Revenge," Lucille said flatly, the communications officer also working to scramble and otherwise confuse their advesaries communications, her brown hair stuffed once more under her usual cap.

"On screen," Kelly answered.

"We'll drop off Isis as planned," Siobhan Ward reported, her coppery black hair flowing over her cybernetic eye, "then we'll provide you cover with Donovan."

"Thank you," Kelly said, "we'll be relying on you."

"Do you think Donovan will double cross us?" Siobhan wondered.

"I don't know," Kelly admitted after a moment, "but she has a lot to lose if we fail..."

"Fair enough," Siobhan nodded, "let's do this."

Meanwhile, on the deck of her own vessel Victoria Donovan held on to her command chair for dear life, her curly black hair falling gracefully against dusky skin. "Fatora, how are we doing?" she asked with forced calm.

"On course," the slim brown haired woman said as Fatora concentrated on her work at the weapons array, "Miles and Ward are surprisingly effective."

"Shane and Dan are insane," Aielle muttered as the navigator punched keys desperately, trying her best to keep up with the other pilots wild maneuvers.

Ifurita manned communications, though in fact her control board had connections to most of the ship systems too. "Should we pull back?" she wondered, the silver haired amazon meeting Victoria's eyes with a gentle concern.

"We're commited," Victoria said flatly. "Fatora?"

"Ma'am?" Fatora responded even as she crippled another enemy ship and kept an eye on two more sweeping in.

"Once we reach Drydock Miles is taking a team aboard while we and Ward try to hold off the rebels," Victoria said grimly, "I want a targeting solution prepared for the Dock's prime energy arrays, first a penetration salvo then a set high yield explosives."

"You want to trigger a reaction in the power system," Fatora breathed out, "and possibly destroy Drydock."

"Ma'am," Aielle blurted, "there are thousands of people on there!"

Victoria looked at the view screen, at the chaos of battle all around them as she replied, "If Miles fails this rebellion will spread, costing even more lives than that." A dangerous smile, "This way, we cut off it's head while it's still controllable."

"Reasonable," Ifurita agreed.

"Good luck Miles," Fatora murmured, "you'll need it."

In front of the three vessels Drydock swelled in size, it's own defenses activating too little, too late. Dodging the lower powered defensive guns Venture swung in close to the massive construct, lining up the ship to the docks. Normally twin docking chutes would activate from both crafts, but this was a far from normal situation. Beam weapons fired into the dock, rupturing armor and blowing hatches even as the emergency docking chute deployed, lashing out from the Venture to lock on to Drydock's skin.

As they did so a silvery shape launched from the Revenge, impacting into the hull of Drydock nearby, then the misshapen craft wheeled around to face the recovering mass of enemy craft. "All right people," Siobhan said with a feral grin from where she had taken over tactical, "let's give 'em hell."

Kelly Miles strapped a regulation pistol to her side as her team hurried to the docking chute, her expression grim. "WE should be bringing some security staff," Rio advised, toting a much more wicked looking rifle.

"No time," Kelly said, "besides, I'm hoping we won't need them."

Dan gulped, the brown haired man carrying his own rifle as they headed down the metallic tube from the Venture to Drydock. "Do you have a plan, ma'am?" he asked nervously.

"I always have a plan," Kelly answered as they entered the battered docking area, the room clearly showing damage from their weapons fire.

"Two guards were waiting," Isis calmly appeared from up the corridor as the artificial woman continued, "I subdued them."

"Good work," Rio nodded. She looked at Kelly, "The bridge deck?"

"Ikari and the others should be there," Kelly agreed, "but first I need to talk to Isis."

"Yes, Mother?" Isis replied as Kelly gently drew her aside.

"Can you..." Kelly dropped her voice so that Rio and Dan couldn't hear.

"I wish she wouldn't do stuff like this," Rio sighed as she took a cigarette out and lit it, despite being in defiance of several rules.

"Do what?" Dan wondered as he kept a wary eye around the corridor they were waiting in, knowing the crew of Drydock had to respond soon. 'Though if the EMP fried their systems badly enough, they may not know where we are,' he mused hopefully.

"She's got a strategy in mind that I'm going to disapprove of," Rio took a drag, "that's why she's just talking to Isis."

Dan clutched his rifle nervously, "So what do we do?"

Rio shrugged, "Follow her lead. She IS the captain."

"All right," Kelly said briskly, "we've got a ways to go so let's move out."

The next ten minutes were a small slice of hell as Kelly used her knowledge of ship design to lead them through conduits and crawl spaces up through the station, the sort of route only a engineer might devise.

"Are we there yet?" Dan whimpered.

"If you ask that again," Rio said as they shoved up a hatch, "I'll shoot you myself."

"And I'll help," Isis added.

"You're a android," Kelly blinked, "you're not supposed to get annoyed."

"Humans have rubbed off on me?" Isis shrugged.

"Siobhan's been a bad influence," Kelly noted.

Together they emerged into a deserted hallway, the soft whine of alert alarms ringing off in the distance. Rio drew her gun as she softly asked, "How far to the bridge?"

"Less than a minute that way," Isis informed them, "this service corridor was sealed as a emergency bulkhead shortly after construction was finished."

"Where's the security?" Dan wondered.

Kelly checked her pistol as she lead them down the hall, "The official schematics don't show any access to this place." A grin, "I only know because I did a essay on security flaws in this kind of station at the academy."

"And I downloaded that essay," Isis agreed.

"Shh," Rio waved them to silence as they heard conversation muted by a bulkhead.

"Explosive charge," Kelly whispered, holding out her hand.

Rio calmly passed it over, "Here."

"How did she know Rio had explosives on her?' Dan wondered.

"Doesn't everyone?" Isis smiled mysteriously.

Dan sighed, wondering if she was joking as Kelly calmly set the device. Gesturing them away they took what cover they could, waiting til it was time. In a flare of light and a burst of sound the wall exploded, the energy mostly safely shunted away from them and out onto the command deck.

"What in the..." Captain Rei Ayanami coughed as smoke from blown instrument pannels bellowed around the bridge.

"Damage report!" Ritsuko Akagi demanded, the blonde leaning on the engineering console as she tried to understand what happened.

"Where are Miles and her invaders?" Yui Ikagi asked from where she was watching, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Right here," Kelly said calmly as she lead her team through the smoke of the still burning bulkhead wall.

"Don't even think about it," Rio said as she kept her guns leveled on the security staff.

"Governor Ikari?" Kelly smiled grimly, "let's talk."

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Twenty-one**

The officers stationed around Drydock's bridge tensed as they faced the newcomers, hands inching towards weapons. "I really wouldn't do that," Rio said coldly as she hefted her pistols, "after everything that's happened I'm itching to shoot."

"Besides," Kelly Miles continued as the captain looked across the bridge at Yui Ikari, "this is your last, best chance to end this before things get worse."

"Ma'am?" Rei Ayanami asked, her cool red eyes narrowed just a bit as the blue haired woman studied her foes.

Yui Ikari nodded slightly, "All right, then." She rose from her seat as the brown haired governor continued calmly, "My briefing room?"

"Let's go," Kelly agreed.

"Alone," Yui said grimly.

"Ma'am, we...," Dan started to protest.

Kelly gestured him to silence as she studied Yui for a moment. "All right," she agreed before looking back at her team. "Isis, ready our back up plan."

"All ready prepared," Isis reassured her, the artificial woman smiling slightly.

As Kelly and Ikari went into the side room Rio swept the group with a dangerous smile, "Well, what should we do while we're waiting? Truth or dare?"

Maya Ibuki narrowed her eyes as the brown haired boyish woman studied them. "My escape," she sighed, "it was a fake?"

"Yeah," Dan didn't see any reason to lie, "we had no reason to hold you any more, so...."

Colonel Brendan O'Rourke shook his head ruefully even as he edged towards the doorway. "How could you consider using a ship in such a kamikaze run?" he asked coldly.

"Ah ah," Isis warned as she waved her gun at him, "sit still, please. No one wants anyone hurt, at least not right now."

The briefing room by the bridge was small, a large table set beside monitors showing the star scape outside. It gave a illusion of nearness to the stars yet was also safe from attack, or at least that was the theory.

"So, Yui took the head of the table in a reflexive control of powerful cues, "what shall we talk about?"

Kelly took her pistol and put it in the holster at her side. Noting Yui's surprised reaction she smiled slightly, "No, I'm not going to kill you." Her expression became more serious, "Not that I'm not tempted, but that wouldn't end this rebellion. At best it might slow it down, at worst make you a martyr."

"So, what are we dealing with here?" Yui asked.

"The other hand I can play," Kelly answered, "destroying this station and taking you, your carefully chosen command team and all the innocents on board with us."

"You can't be serious?" Yui looked at her, aghast.

"Try me," Kelly smiled coldly.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ai wrenched the ship into a turn that made the inertial compensators loudly whine in protest, alarms wailing on the bridge. "Enemy at twelve o'clock relative!" she yelped as they swept through a gap in ships that had been blasted open by the Revenge.

Eiko jabbed the firing studs and launched missiles, the glowing projectiles crossing space in less than a tenth of a second. The target detonated in a flare of light, dispersing into a cloud of debris as she cried, "Yes!"

Lucille held onto the command chair for dear life, silently cursing their captain for leaving her in charge. "Good job," she agreed as she bared her teeth in a fierce expression and added, "now do it again."

"We're being hailed by the Revenge," Yuki said, the dark brown haired communications assistant holding on to her station with a white knuckled grip.

"Put her on," Lucille said seriously.

"How are you holding up?" Siobhan Ward asked them, her coppery colored hair flowing around her shoulders. Her cybernetics gleamed as she sat back in the captain's seat on her ship's smaller bridge. There was a bit of smoke lingering in the air from a burning console, the fire now extinguished but leaving a charred wreck behind.

"Better than I expected," Lucille answered as they danced between enemy fire, some of the shots bleeding of their ship's shielding. "I see you took a hit, too," she noted.

"They aren't attacking a furiously as I expected," Shane Llewellyn noted, the older pilot smiling grimly as he maneuvered the bulky older ship. He had a bit of ash on his face, the old navigation console being the one that burst into flames.

"Furious enough," Victoria Donovan said seriously, using the data link all three were maintaining to get a word in. "Do you think they know our team is there?"

"Maybe," Siobhan smiled grimly, "or they're not receiving from their command, at least. Either way, it's an advantage I'll take."

"True," Fatora murmured her agreement from her place on Donovan's bridge. "Too bad we don't dare use data-link...." she sighed.

"I don't want to encourage anyone else to use it against us," Lucille said dryly. She winced as the ship was rocked by a near miss, "Oww."

"Sorry," Ai scowled, "they're still trying to beat our anti-missiles with heavy fire."

"I'll try to make it harder on them," Eiko smiled grimly as she fired their weapons, "pin their ears back a bit."

"I hope that Miles gets her nission done soon," Ifurita noted coolly as she used Donovan's ship to destroy yet another vessel, "the odds of our surviving drop the longer this drags on."

"We'll hold," Lucille said firmly, "as long as it takes."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Yui Ikari weighed the seriousness in Kelly's eyes, trying to determine if she really meant her threat. They younger woman's eyes were clear and steady, showing no kind of hesitation. 'And she and her crews came up with ramming a ship into our defenses, killing I don't know how many people...,' she thought grimly.

Kelly looked at her with a mix of revulsion and sympathy. On one hand this was the woman who had probably orchestrated the deaths of countless colonies and settlements to build up hatred towards the central government of the Commonwealth, yet she was also a charismatic leader who had rallied two whole sectors to her side and immense numbers of ships.

"What, exactly, do you want?" Yui Ikari asked after a moment.

"In a perfect world I'd like to haul you, O'Rourke and your whole command staff off in chains," Kelly answered frankly, "but I know I cant get that."

"Hmm," Yui acknowledged with a slight nod.

"But the colonists killed by the raiders deserve some kind of justice," Kelly said seriously, "I want their commander."

"I...," Yui sighed, "it's not that easy."

Suddenly Kelly moved, going to the door to the compartment and sticking her head out into the bridge. "Colonel O'Rourke," she called, "could you disarm and come in here?"

"Captain, may I join you?" Isis asked.

"I don't object," Brendan O'Rourke said as he and Isis walked into the room.

Yui frowned at Kelly, "You shouldn't have...."

Brendan walked over to Yui's side, then looked back at Miles thoughtfully. "I think I can guess why I'm here," he said quietly, "Miles wants me and the commanders of the Raiders to face trial in the Commonwealth."

"I think it's the least I can offer to all those who died," Kelly answered seriously.

"I won't...," Yui started, angrily.

"It's a good deal, Yui," Brendan shook his head, his eyes haunted by memory. He looked at her sadly, "We both knew this day would have to come eventually... we had to pay the piper somehow."

"They'll put you in front of a firing squad and shoot you," Yui protested.

"And maybe that's what I deserve," Brendan answered seriously. He looked over at Kelly, "My surrender and my chiefs along with safe passage out, I expect?"

"Yes," Kelly agreed, "in return, I won't destroy Drydock and I'll hold off broadcasting the details of your running the Raiders, Ikari."

"You can't prove that," Yui looked startled.

Kelly smiled grimly, "I can't connect you directly, but I think anyone who reads the files we crack will put the pieces together."

Yui pressed her lips together, for a moment considering trying to kill Kelly and her people anyway. Brenden shook his head slightly and Yui relaxed, knowing he was probably right. "All right," she said, sounding as if she hated the words coming out of her mouth, "we have a agreement."

"Good," Kelly nodded, "now lets call off our ships before anyone else dies."

To be continued....

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Twenty-two**

**Final**

Three years later Vice-Admiral Kelly Miles frowned as her flagship the Venture and it's squadron made it's way to the demilitarized zone that separated the Commonwealth from what was now called the Free Worlds. The green eyes blonde nervously adjusted her dress uniform, wishing she wasn't wearing the monkey suit.

"Captain Kain," Ai reported from her station at the helm, "we're being scanned."

On the viewscreen, vessels of the Free Worlds resolved into view, moving in wings around a flagship of their own. FWS Defiant, one of the first newly constructed ships the other side had led the wall, followed by cruisers that once would have served as part of the powerful Frontier Fleet.

"We're getting a hail from the FWS Defiant," Ayeka Jurai reported, the purple haired woman listening, "the diplomatic team is ready to meet as planned."

Captain Jesse Kain nodded slightly in acknowledgement. Turning to the science officer she said, "Scan the planetoid for enviromental hazzards as well as any traps."

Tenchi Misaki nodded as the black haired young man brought the sensors on line. "Scanning the planet now," he reported.

Kelly made her way from where she had been watching from the back of the bridge, standing beside her captain. "Getting a little paranoid?" she asked quietly.

Jesse smiled grimly, "After three years of fighting, I'm taking no chances."

"True," Kelly conceded.

Shortly after the arrest of Colonel O'Rourke the Commonwealth refused to recognize Yui Ikari's attempt to form a government, declaring war upon the rogue sectors. Sadly the decleration played right into Ikari's hands and the canny ex-governor used it to rally support to her side. Despite all the damage the Venture had succeeded in doing the FW Fleet they fielded a startling number of ships in the new nation's defense. What the Commonwealth had expected to be a fast police action dragged on for years, ultimately leading them to where they were now.

"I still can't believe we're actually negotiating with them," Jesse sighed as she warily studied the ships before them.

"No choice," Kelly shrugged slightly, "the war's stalemated. We can keep grinding against each other, but unless Siobhan Ward, Isis and her teams at R&D come up with something radical the war will never end."

"Scans completed," Tenchi reported, "the site checks out as Earth standard and I see no sign of traps or concealed forces."

"Understood," Jessie nodded. She walked to the command chair, "Vice Admiral,. I still think we should send down a security team with you and the diplomats."

"We have to extend trust somewhere," Kelly said mildly.

Jesse grimaced but nodded, "Yes ma'am."

Excusing herself from the still very familiar bridge Kelly headed for the lift and down to where the diplomatic team was waiting to go. Some negotiations had already begun via courier ships and lower level ambassadors, but now they were getting ready for the first face to face meetings. A low murmur of conversation buzzed in the meeting room as Kelly entered, only dropping a bit as she entered.

"Shane," Kelly nodded a greeting to a tall man, his brown hair tied back in a neat ponytail, a silver clip holding it in place.

Shane Llewellyn had started out as a ship's navigator, but unlike most Fleet officers he saw little point to the war. Instead of signing on he went to work for the government, helping address the damage the raiders had done in the outer reaches of Commonwealth territory. Ironically he became well enough known to be tapped for this mission he honestly had never planned to be on.

"Miles," Shane smiled back wryly, "how did I get into this situation again?"

"Being good at your job," Kelly chuckled. Dropping her voice she asked, "How's the lead negotiator doing?"

"I'm sure Dr. Tenkawa has the situation well in hand," Shane reassured her.

"Damn it!" Akito Tenkawa blurted, "I'm just a freaking cook!"

"Right," Kelly sweatdropped.

"He gets like that before negotiations," Shane confided, "don't worry, once he's on the job everything will be fine."

"Will we need a pilot for the shuttle down," Kelly smiled impishly, "or will you be flying us down?"

Shane chuckled, "I'm a bit rusty, you know."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Kelly said as she moved off to mingle with the rest of the diplomats. Thankfully they seemed quite capable and the eccentricities of their leader were quite forgivable once Kelly saw how charming he could be. He was a bit odd, but he seemed pretty good at his job.

"It's time, folks," Jesse announced over the intercom, sending the diplomatic team hurrying to the shuttlebay. Within a few minutes they boarded the transport, a air/space shuttle with collapsable wings that would deploy once they entered the atmosphere.

"Strap yourselves in, folks," Shane ordered as he took the pilot's chair, a nervous officer taking co-pilot, "it may be a bumpy ride."

Contradicting his words Shane launched them from the bay smoothly, taking them through space then into the correct angle for atmospheric reentry. There was some turbulence as they made their way down to the ground, but overall it was a nice trip.

The meeting place was a series of temporary structures build by a tem of engineers from both sides, a hall along with several private rooms for smaller conferences. It lacked the majesty of a city hall or similar meetings place, but it looked like it would do the job.

As the diplomatic team filed out of the shuttle they saw the other team descending, their pilot bringing them down on the opposite side of the structure. Once the ground cooled both groups disembarked, walking towards one another and the waiting buildings.

Ritsuko Akagi nodded a greeting as she and her team from the Free Worlds reached Kelly and her team. "It's been a long time," the black haired woman said as she offered her hand.

"That it has," Kelly agreed as she shook her hand, "I hope we can continue our representative's good work in reaching this point."

"I do too," Ritsuko nodded.

Of course, negotiations were more complicated than that. Akito and the head of the Free Worlds delegation hammered at each other over concessions and territory, over laws in each region and repairations to be made. Still after several days and many trips back and forth between their ships, a rough agreement was made.

A formal territory for the Free Worlds was finally defined, as were it's relationship to the Commonwealth. Extradition treaties were established as well as finally opening formal diplomatic relations between the two regions.

Kelly Miles found herself standing in one of the ready rooms, looking out as the Free Worlds ships moved out, the planet turning below them. She looked over at Jesse, "This isn't how I hoped things would end."

"Oh, I think we did okay," Jesse said with a shrug. "Everyone on our side knows the dirty dealings Yui Ikari did to found the Free Worlds, and we successfully tried the leaders of her Raider fleet."

"But Ikari herself got away," Kelly sighed.

"For now," Jesse said with a smile, "but history will judge her in the end."

"Maybe," Kelly said with a wry smile. She looked over at Jesse, "But the victor writes the history books... and in the Free Worlds that's Yui."

"She'll pay for her crimes eventually," Jesse promised. She looked at Kelly with a pained look, "How's Sio doing?"

"Haven't been back to Earth in a bit?" Kelly gave her a sympathetic look, "They're still talking about getting married, but neither one can manage a schedule."

Jesse laughed, "That sounds like Sio."

"Dan made captain recently," Kelly dredged her memory, "though only of a light courier ship." She smiled, "He's still one of the best pilots in the fleet... even bumps his navigator off her console and takes over in emergencies."

"I can imagine," Jesse agreed. She gave Kelly a thoughtful look, "What about you?"

"What about me?" Kelly shrugged, "Being a captain then commodore has kept me on the movie. Maybe settling down as a admiral will help."

"So those rumors about you and Isis?" Jesse smirked.

Kelly blushed, "Get your mind out of the gutter, please."

Jesse just snickered softly. They looked out at the void together, Jesse's memories of the past few years lingering in her mind. "You know, I don't think we've done so bad," she repeated, reaching out to squeeze Kelly's shoulder.

"You're right," Kelly conceded, "and who knows what tomorrow will bring?"

"Exactly," Jesse nodded, both watching the planet fall away from them as the ship finally moved out. "You joining us for the party?" she asked.

"What the hell," Kelly laughed, "maybe Ayeka will get drunk and sing again...."

End.

**Tennokiken Voyagers: Notes**

If I was determined to continue this I'd insert a few chapters covering the war years, but I'm afraid it'd be a long, long storyline. I wanted to generate a resolution to the initial raiders plotline but I also wanted to be realistic about their chances of getting the enemy leader, too. Sorry for the half way end, folks.

Faster than light travel cannot be done in normal space, only in hyperspace. Conventional weapons don't function in hyperspace, battles always fought in normal space. No faster than light communication, courier ships carry messages from place to place. Certain points in space allow for easier access to hyperspace, so spacestations and bases are often constructed nearby them.

Medical technology quite advanced, alowing for regeneration of serious injuries. A small percentage, .01, is resistant to regen, must instead rely on other methods. Cybernetics available for such people, but regarded badly by society.

Warships use energy weapons along with gravimetric based missiles. Missile generate mini-black hole, very destructive when they detonate. Energy projection weapons, beams dissipate over long distances. Ships are capable of generating defensive shield, but it degrades as attacks hit it.

The Venture: a new generation of batttlecruiser. Crews 50, and equiped with latest upgrades of energy and missile weapons along with electronic counter measures. Some science and research capabilities, but primarily designed for combat. General shape resembles a teardrop, stretched out. Maximum speed in space is .95 the speed of light, in hyperspace several times that rate.

Captain Kelly Miles: Joined Military young, originally in the sciences. Involved with Isis project, but a serious incident derailed it. Switched to Command track, quickly advanced to captain. Has crossed Victoria Donavan in the past, so much so that the woman would happily sabotage her now.

Commander Rio: Second in comand of the Venture. Former professional mercenary, joined Fleet to try to turn over a new leaf. The tactical officer is fiercely loyal to Kelly after the woman promoted her over the objections of her superiors.

Lieutenant-Commander Jessica "Jessie" Kain: Chief Engineer, Jessie was trained by Siobhan Ward. Very skilled, knows her ship backwards and forwards. May or may not have had a crush on Siobhan, but hates Victoria Donovan with a passion over what happened to Sio.

Lieutenant Dan Wisner: Just been promoted, and is a little green. An excelent navigation officer and helmsman, he was specifically chosen by Kelly for this mission. A bit stiff and formal, but is slowly getting used to Kelly's more relaxed style.

Lieutenant Lucille Bevía: the ship's communications officer. Transfered aboard shortly after Jessie did, possibly because she was following her. A good officer, not outstanding.

Ensigns: Ai-relief officer on tactical, likes Dan. Eiko is relief for Navigation.

Siobhan Ward: Former chief engineer for Drydock until injured by a suspicious accident. As one of those resistant to regen, her injuries could have been fatal. Smuggled out of a Fleet hospital by two loyal officers she disappeared completely, not even revealing to Jessie what happened to her.

Isis: a prototype android who's design was primarily concieved by Kelly Miles. She thought there might be a flaw in the brain's design and urged a delay on activation, but her superior officer insisted on an easrly activation. Was awake a few days, bonding with Kelly especially, then a cascade failure occured in the brain. Isis was shut down, apparently dead.


End file.
